


A Month to Remember

by nycz



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Amnesia, F/F, Intrigue, Minor Original Character(s), Mystery, Slow Burn, Sort of Unreliable Narrator, Swan Queen Week, due to the pov being fixed to one person, post 3b
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-10
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-02-04 05:02:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 34,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1766485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nycz/pseuds/nycz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>"Trouble in paradise?" Ruby came sauntering over to Emma's booth with a smirk.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"You could say that," Emma muttered.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"It's about time, you two have been giving Snow and David a run for the money of cutest couple in Storybrooke, you know. Disgustingly adorable." Her wide grin took away any sting her words might have.</em>
</p>
<p>Emma forgets a month of her life, purportedly the same month she and Regina got together. According to Regina, though, the whole thing was faked from the beginning to get Hook to lay off. And then there is that ring that Emma doesn't remember buying...</p>
<p>Written for "Amnesia", day 3 of Swan Queen Week. Post season 3.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Emma was sitting in a booth at Granny's when it happened. It wasn't very noticeable at first, just a slight blur obscuring her vision. She blinked a few times and shook her head and it receded, leaving a faint, blurry haze at the edge of her vision.

She blinked again, this time for a different reason. Something was wrong. Across the table sat Snow and David, happily conversing about something with... Regina? 

What the hell?

Three pairs of eyes turned towards her. Apparently she'd said it out loud.

"Um, never mind. Just thinking out loud," she muttered, rubbing her neck. Or more precisely, she _tried_ to, but something was stopping her. 

Her eyes widened comically as she shot a glance at her hand.

Regina was holding her hand, fingers interlaced and on the table for everyone to see. 

_What the hell is going on?_ she thought, this time making sure her lips wouldn't betray her. Her relationship with Regina was fairly good but it wasn't like they were best buddies or anything thing. And now, for some inexplicable reason, they were having lunch with her parents of all people.

Thinking back, she tried to recall what had led up to this bizarre get-together.

...

Blank.

Nothing.

Empty.

The last thing she remembered was driving over to Regina's mansion for a magic lesson. How long ago was that? Earlier today? Yesterday?

She reached for the cup in front of her on the table, only to find it empty. Great. Another thing she had forgotten.

And then there was that weird warm buzzing sensation that permeated her body, humming and pulsating in a strangely pleasurable way.

"Emma, are you alright?"

Emma looked up from her empty cup, having forgotten that she wasn't alone. "Fine, Mom, just... a headache," she replied, attempting a reassuring smile.

Snow didn't look convinced, but luckily didn't press the issue.

"Well, we should be heading home. Maybe we should make this a regular thing?" David spoke up when the conversation eventually came to a close.

Regina's grip on Emma's hand immediately increased and Emma snapped her head towards her. Regina's politician's smile was in full power.

"Indeed."

If Snow or David noticed anything, they didn't show it. They were probably too giddy in that persistent newlywed way of theirs to bother trying to interpret Regina's many facades.

"So," Emma tried, without a clue to what she wanted to say. Hey, I just lost a few hours worth of memories, seen any of them anywhere?

Regina gently put down the cup she had been sipping from and let out a tired sigh. "Let's hear it, Miss Swan."

"What?"

"Unless that cup is somehow your arch nemesis, you have stared at it far too intensely for the last twenty minutes. Obviously something is on your mind."

"And you actually want to know what's bothering me?"

"Just _tell_ me," Regina snapped, her eyes hard and angry – why, Emma had no idea – before her mask fell in place again, rendering her expression unreadable.

"I..." Emma faltered, taken aback by Regina's swift mood swings. Was this really a good idea, telling Regina? Maybe not, but she had a nagging feeling that this had something to do with magic and she sure as hell wouldn't ask Blue or Rumple. "I think I've lost some of my memories. I'm... I'm not sure how I got here. The last I remember is heading over to your place for a magic lesson."

A strange look clouded Regina's eyes for a split second, disappearing so quickly Emma wasn't sure it had been there in the first place. Was it fear? Sadness? Surprise? She wasn't sure.

"I see." Regina visibly deflated, almost slouching in the booth as her eyes went down to stare at their still linked hands. Slowly, carefully, she untangled her hand, placing it with her other in her lap. "I thought this might happen," she explained quietly. "It's the result of a spell. You've forgotten the last month."

A month? "How do know–"

"I know when the spell in question was cast, Miss Swan. It was a month ago," she cut her off, irritation clear in her voice. "If you'll excuse me." With that, she got up and headed for the bathroom.

Watching Regina march off, Emma tried to make sense of what had just happened. She'd fucked up a spell, if Regina was to be believed. She'd lost a month – a _month!_ – of memories because of it. On top of that, Regina was acting weird, emotions all over the place that Emma couldn't place or interpret. She was definitely holding something back.

"Trouble in paradise?" Ruby came sauntering over to Emma's booth with a smirk.

"You could say that," Emma muttered.

"It's about time, you two have been giving Snow and David a run for the money of cutest couple in Storybrooke, you know. Disgustingly adorable." Her wide grin took away any sting her words might have.

Emma's expression was a perfect combination of confusion and surprise. "Who?" Her eyes widened as her mind slowly processed Ruby's words. "Wait, me and Regina?"

"Don't act so surprised. You've been on your way to Storybrooke Couple of the Year ever since you got together."

She and Regina was together? Emma couldn't say the prospect didn't appeal to her, but this wasn't just any hot ex-mayor, this was _Regina_. The same Regina that had emotional walls taller than the castles in the Enchanted Forest and, of course, the same Regina who had lost her soul mate when Emma had brought Marian back.

Sure, they had mended their broken relationship – if one could call it that – to an extent, but they weren't close to what Ruby was talking about.

Couple of the Year? Not a chance. _Sadly._

"Tend to your customers, wolf," came Regina's cold voice. "We're leaving."

Emma was more or less pushed out of the diner in Regina's hurry to exit the building.

"Damn it, Regina, would you slow down?" Emma protested when Regina shoved her into her Mercedes. "Just calm down."

Regina shot her a spiteful glance. "Ruby should stick to serving. Some day that mouth of hers will get her in trouble."

"Yeah yeah. How about you tell me what this about us being together is?" A part of her wished it was true – even if they only were fuckbuddies – but she pushed down the feelings. Regina was impossibly hot, but she was also the most unavailable woman in Storybrooke. Getting her hopes up only meant having them inevitably crushed under one of Regina's stiletto heels.

" _Us_ ," Regina scoffed, gripping the steering wheel tighter. "That was never real."

"Yeah, I figured as much," Emma muttered but couldn't help feeling a stab of sadness from Regina's mocking tone. Not having a chance was one thing, the mere idea being laughable was much worse.

"It's been going on for a little less than a month. Hook was courting you–"

"Courting?" Emma chuckled, the mental image was too weird. "I doubt insisting 'you want me, you know you do' and being unable to talk without sexual innuendos count as courting."

There was a twitch in the corner of Regina's lips and Emma mentally high-fived herself for almost coaxing a smile from Regina. "He was _pursuing_ you and you couldn't get him to end it, so you came to me."

Emma stared at her incredulously. "I came to _you_ to fake a relationship to get Hook off my back?" She winced at her choice of words and added, "figuratively."

"Yes."

"You're lying."

"He proposed to you and you wanted him permanently dissuaded–"

"He proposed to me?" She tried but failed to picture him on one knee, saying something sappy about her being the light in his darkness and blah blah eternal love. Ridiculous. "It doesn't matter, you're still not telling the truth about faking the relationship. Spit it out."

"Miss Swan–"

"You know I can tell when you're lying."

"Fine," Regina said with an exasperated sigh. Clenching her jaw, she paused for a moment, staring forward.

"Well?"

"To get rid of Hook," her tongue darted out to wet her lips, "you blackmailed me."

"What?" Emma blurted out, searching Regina's face for any hint of deception but found none. Her lie detector was quiet.

"You heard me, Miss Swan," Regina said flatly.

"I blackmailed you," Emma mumbled, mostly to herself, letting the words sink in. She didn't want to believe it – she _couldn't_ believe it – but Regina wasn't lying. It didn't make any sense. "With what? How did I do it?" She didn't want to know but she had to ask.

Regina was quiet for a few seconds before finally answering, her voice low, almost bittersweet. "If I told you that, you'd do it again."

The rest of the drive to the Emma's apartment was silent.

 

* * *

 

The first thing Emma noticed when she entered her apartment was the sounds of someone moving around in the apartment. For a split second she wondered if Hook had moved in with her, but her fear was quickly dispelled when she saw Henry appearing in the doorway to the living room.

"Hi Ma! Didn't expect you back so soon." With a frown that was eerily similar to Regina's, he continued, "is everything okay?"

Emma tried to smile, she really did. Failing at it, she sighed, slumping back against the front door. "Not really, kid."

"Did you meet Hook?" Henry sounded like he already knew the answer.

"No, nothing like that, it's just– I–" Her mouth opened and closed uselessly, her mind still reeling from the last hour's events. "I fucked up. Bad," she finally mumbled, tossing off her boots and jacket.

"This is about Mom, isn't it."

Emma laughed but it wasn't a happy sound. "Some of it. Some of it is just my own damn fault." She shuffled over to the living room and slumped down in the couch, Henry sitting down next to her. "Apparently, I fucked up a spell and now I can't remember the last month."

"Damn," Henry mumbled under his breath, his face dropping. "You can't remember anything after you and Mom got together? You were so happy."

"Yeah." So Henry didn't know; they had actually lied to _him_ of all people. Could this get any worse?

"And it would be your one month anniversary in a few days, too." He gave her a confused look. "Why are you here? I mean, shouldn't you try to fix it – the spell – with Mom? You'll figure something out–"

"Your mother and I are not– we're–" She groaned, burying her face in her hands. "Our relationship was never real. We faked the whole thing to get Hook off my back after he proposed to me." _And because I forced her to help me._ She couldn't tell him.

"What?"

Emma looked up and met the very incredulous face of her son. He looked so much like Regina there, wearing the exact same expression that Regina would use when Emma said something utterly idiotic and really, she should have know that before blabbering like her idiot parents. She could practically hear Regina's exasperated voice.

"That's what she's going with?" Henry huffed. "I can't believe her."

"She's not going with anything, Henry, I could tell she wasn't lying."

"You're wrong," he insisted. "There's no way you faked all that last month. No way. I saw all your looks and touches and stuff, and Mom didn't fake it. She wasn't giving you her fake smiles, she gave you her _real_ smiles."

She was only a little surprised at how much she wished it was true. _You only know what you want until you can't have it anymore, right?_

But she knew better and shook her head. "She said we faked it... because I blackmailed her." Just saying the words out loud felt disgusting.

"She said you blackmailed her? Why? How?"

"She wouldn't say."

"Weird."

She could almost hear his brain working overtime to figure out what Regina was up to.

"No," he said after a while, "I don't buy it. You probably had a fight or whatever and she's scared and with your memory loss she figures she should cut her losses and leave."

"That sounds like her," Emma acquiesced, "but I know what I heard. She was telling the truth."

He let out a sigh, slumping back in the couch. "Why can't you guys get your happy ending already."

"That only happens in fairy tales, kid," she mumbled with a sad smile.

 

* * *

 

A month.

A whole month was missing from her memory. Completely gone.

It wasn't until now, alone on her bed, that it finally sank in. With Regina and then Henry she had been distracted, wondering and worrying about what she'd done to Regina, but now there was nothing to distract her.

Nothing to distract her from the fact that she'd looked at and touched and maybe even kissed Regina fucking Mills for a month _and she couldn't remember a goddamn thing!_

Fuck, she wanted to know what happened that month.

A smile touched her lips as she remembered the way her fingers had been laced together with Regina's. They had fit so perfectly, like they were meant to be like that.

And then she remembered how Regina had looked at her like Emma was the reason for all of the pain in her life and all the good feelings disappeared.

She fell asleep thinking of Regina's soft, warm skin against her palm.

 

* * *

 

_"He's an ass, Emma. Don't think about him."_

_"You just want me all to yourself, don't you?" She snuggled even closer to Regina, humming happily when long fingers began gently combing through her hair. "Not that I mind."_

_Regina chuckled, low and warm. "He's not worth your time. Reject him and move on."_

_"I can't believe he actually proposed," Emma huffed. "No ring, no nothing. Felt like a business transaction."_

_"Well, you are a trophy to him. That should be fairly obvious by now." She smiled wickedly, scraping her nail against Emma's scalp. "Even to a Charming."_

_"Hey!" Emma objected but then Regina's fingers were on her neck and on the sensitive skin behind her ear and she couldn't hold back a soft groan. Regina was so_ good _at this._

_"Did you say something?" And so very smug._

_Emma groaned again, but now because of an uncomfortable sensation on her hip. She shifted around but it didn't help._

_"If you're getting restless, maybe we should continue this upstairs," Regina husked, a perfectly manicured fingernail tracing the edges of Emma's lips._

 

* * *

 

Emma awoke in her bed, thinking for a moment that she was in Regina's bed. She groaned loudly when she recognized her own, lackluster bedroom.

And that damn thing was still digging into her hip. Shoving her hand down her pocket, she pulled up a small box. It looked suspiciously like–

She opened it.

–like something that would contain a ring. A wedding ring. What the fuck?

She picked it up carefully, staring at the elaborate design. The ring was made too look like two wings, curling around the finger. She didn't need to be a jeweler to recognize that it wasn't some cheap thing; the detail on the wings was absolutely incredible, down to the individual feathers. Turning it around, she found a small line of text inside.

_Let my wings embrace you_

How very sappy.

No name anywhere, nothing.

Why did she have a wedding ring if _Hook_ was the one who proposed?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand we're back. Sorry about the wait, life kind of punched me in the face a bit. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long. (Famous last words, yeah yeah...)
> 
> Note that the rating changes to mature in this chapter, courtesy of a little smut.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for all the lovely comments and happy reading :)

Emma woke up the next day, sweaty and frustrated. The dream had felt real, to say the least. Regina, writhing and thrashing beneath her, giving up her body completely to Emma's greedy touches. God, Emma could even remember the _taste_ of her. Her tongue shot out to wet her lips, as if hoping that the taste would still linger on her lips.

"Fuck it," she muttered and shoved her hand down between her legs. It felt wrong, getting off to thoughts of someone she'd apparently blackmailed, but she wouldn't get anything done the whole day if she didn't scratch this particular itch. And really, who would find out? Sighing, she relaxed down into her pillow, imagining that it was Regina's fingers rubbing her between her legs. Just the thought of it sent Emma's arousal to new heights and she couldn't hold back a whimper.

"Enjoying getting some attention from your Queen, do you, Emma?" Regina said, her grin only widening at the obvious effect of saying her name had on Emma. She kissed and nipped at Emma's collarbones, neck and shoulders, setting Emma's skin on fire while her fingers worked tirelessly to rub her sex. "So needy, Emma," Regina whispered, her breath hot against Emma's ear, before pushing a finger inside the writhing blonde, chuckling at the wanton, needy little noises Regina pulled out of her.

"Regina," Emma half moaned, half whined, pushing her hips up against her hand. Images from the dream the day before, lying in Regina's lap, mixed with the dream she'd just awoken from and she bit her lip, feeling how embarrassingly wet the mix of domesticity and raw sex was getting her. She tried to keep her mind on "safe" things, like sex and Regina's gorgeous body, but her mind wouldn't cooperate. Images of waking up beside her, coming home from work and cuddling in front of the TV came up, and _fuck_ it was hot.

She barely had the sense of mind to slap her hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming Regina's name, before her body arched off the bed, shivering with pleasure as shocks of a much needed orgasm tore through her body. It left her boneless and panting and she only wished that she could have had a certain brunette next to her to curl up against.

"Fuck," she sighed when her mind started working again, this time at the whole shitty situation with Regina as the previous lust left over from the dream faded away. Nothing made sense. Not the memory loss, not the blackmail and especially not the ring.

Okay, so maybe the fake relationship kind of made sense, since in theory it should be the only way to get rid of Hook besides murder. And the more she thought about it, she was pretty sure she wanted a relationship with Regina. Besides the obvious attraction, she was intrigued by Regina, by her mind and, well, _her_ , even if something with Regina only was possible in her fantasies.

In any case, she wouldn't figure anything out by lying in her bed. Sighing, Emma slowly got out of bed, her legs shaky from her orgasm.

 

* * *

 

Breakfast was quickly taken care of with Emma too busy mulling over what she knew about the last month to have that much of an appetite. The top priority had to be to get back her memories, she decided, and the second to find out where and why she'd gotten that ring.

Which meant finding Regina.

She was already halfway out the door when she remembered that she _didn't_ remember where her car was. Asking someone else to drive her was out of the question ("Hey mom, could you drive me to Granny's? I kind of forgot the whole last month so I don't know where my car is. Thanks!") unless she wanted to make her memory loss into a town-wide mission.

Luckily, her magic lessons with Regina had actually payed off, so she had another option. She closed the door and let her magic course through her body. A moment later, she appeared outside Regina's mansion in a cloud of smoke.

"What the actual fuck?" she snapped, staring at the air around her. She couldn't believe her eyes; her goddamn smoke was pink. Fluffy cutesy cotton candy _pink_. "This is not– I'm going to kill someone."

A movement in the corner of her eye made her turn and she saw an elderly couple standing a few feet away, looking as if they were ready to run.

"Oh, no, I– uh, not you," Emma stammered, a little flustered. "Or anyone else, of course. It's just– my smoke, it's– yeah, uh. Never mind. Have a nice day." She flashed them a wild smile before turning to flee up to the mansion's porch, leaving the traumatized couple behind.

"Pink," she muttered and banged on the door a few times. "I want my old smoke back."

After a few minutes, it was getting increasingly obvious that no one was home. Maybe Regina was at Granny's. Either way, Emma still needed to ask Ruby about the ring; hopefully she knew something. Emma hadn't said anything to Henry about it since she found it and she didn't trust her parents to keep quiet and not make it into a big deal, so that left Ruby.

She poofed to a secluded alley near the diner, not wanting to make a grand entrance since her smoke was still the same awful shade of light pink. She glared at it as it dissipated. Someone was going to pay for that.

Just as she entered Granny's, Hook was about to leave. She attempted a neutral smile but judging from his dark expression, she failed spectacularly.

"Swan."

"Hook."

 

* * *

 

_"You really think too little of me if you think a little romp with the Evil Queen is going to deter me." His smirk was firm in place but Emma could see a flicker of anger – or was it sadness? – in his eyes._

_"Seriously, Hook, you need to get a new hobby." He was like a bad rash. "I've told you, nothing's going to happen between you and me. I'm with Regina and even if I wasn't, I wouldn't want to be with you. I'm sorry." It was blunt but he needed to hear it. If he was going to understand it was a different thing entirely, though._

_"Well, lass, we both know that she isn't exactly long-term material. She can't give you the stability that I can. When we're married, you'll see it, even if you're too stubborn to understand it now." He shrugged, a careless gesture very much in contrast to the fire in his eyes. "I'm a patient man."_

_"What the– married? You're proposing?" Emma stared at him, barely believing her ears. She wasn't sure if what she disliked most, his presumption that they would get married or his casual way of mentioning it. "Look, this is why it's never going to happen. I want to be with someone who lets me be who I am and who doesn't treat me like a fucking trophy." She turned to leave but he grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face him._

_"I'm not giving up on us, Emma. You can run as much as you want but when you finally get tired of it and come back to me, I'll be here waiting. With a ring."_

_"Yeah, that's not going to happen. Wait as long as you want."_

_"You think your little thing with the Queen is going to last?" Hook sneered. "I've seen who she really is, lass. She'll tire of you in time and then she'll be off to find another plaything."_

_"You don't know shit," Emma hissed, tearing her arm free. "She is worth fighting for. This," she gestured between them, "is not. Now get the hell away from me."_

 

* * *

 

Hook waved a hand in front of her eyes and she blinked, shaking her head. What had _that_ been? "Are you even listening to me?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Emma replied slowly, regarding him with furrowed brows. Had it been a flashback? A memory? "What were you saying?" She shook her head again and tried to focus on the pirate in front of her. The pirate who was currently holding up a ring. "What the–" she began, looking from the ring, to Hook and then back again. It was nothing like the ring that still lay in her pocket, instead a simple golden band without any remarkable features. "You know what, I don't have time for this. Find someone else to marry."

"Emma, you can't just–"

With an annoyed flick of Emma's wrist, Hook disappeared in a cloud of smoke and appeared on the street outside the diner, disoriented and even more irritated than before. Luckily though, he took the hint and stalked away without another glance behind him.

"I wish you wouldn't do that," came Granny's mutter from behind her. "It scares away the customers."

Emma sighed and sat down heavily on one of the stools. "I promise I'll only do it to Hook."

"I suppose that's fair," Granny nodded. "If it was Ruby he'd been after, she'd have torn of his other hand by now." Giving Emma a pointed look, she proceeded to wipe the counter down.

"Well, I need to set a standard, you know. Sheriff and Savior and everything." Looking around in the diner, she noticed how the younger werewolf was conspicuously missing. "By the way, where is she?"

"Ruby?" Granny scoffed. "She's got the day off, doing who knows what. I'm not sure I want to know."

Emma leaned her elbow on the counter, her chin in her hand. If she couldn't ask Ruby about the ring, there weren't a whole lot of options left. The fairies were far too shady to ask, except maybe Tink. Belle was okay but it wasn't guaranteed that she wouldn't spill the beans to Gold. Regina and her parents were both obviously out of the question.

Granny's grumpy voice shook her out of her reverie. "Are you going to order something or are you just going to sit there, pondering the meaning of life or whatever it is you're doing?"

"Oh, right. Just coffee, please." After a few moments, Emma asked, "could you help me with something? I'm kind of running low on people to ask."

"I can't if you're being vague like that," Granny huffed, not bothering to look up at Emma.

"Sorry, I'm just– I need to show you something but it really can't get out what it is, okay? Not a word to anyone, not even to Ruby and especially not to my parents."

Granny eyed her, sizing her up. "Are you pregnant?"

Emma's eyes grew large as plates. "What? No!"

"Then I won't tell anyone," Granny shrugged. It was good to know what her priorities were. "What is it you want to show me?"

Fiddling with the box inside her pocket, Emma managed to get the ring out without showing the box to anyone; everyone knew what a box like that meant, after all. "I found this in my room and but I can't remember where or how I got it." She held out her hand only to quickly snatch it back with a "oh, wait". A few seconds of concentration and a subtle flick of her wrist later she handed the ring back over to Granny. "I just cast a little glamour spell on it. Now anyone who sees you will think you're staring at a rock." For a split second, she wished Regina was there so she could see just how far Emma had come with her magic studies, but then she remembered the last 24 hours and her pride withered away. She would have to revert time before Regina would be proud of her again.

Granny held up the ring in the light and inspected it closely. "It's a ring, but I guess you already figured that out," she muttered, turning it over to read the inscription. "And there's a text I don't recognize. No famous quote I know at least. Actually, I can't tell you anything about this ring, except the material." She handed it back to Emma who quickly put it back in its box in her pocket. "I'm surprised you didn't smell it."

"Smell it?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow. "How am I supposed to smell what metal it's made of?"

"It's not made out of a metal, it's made of magic," Granny huffed. "Pure magic."

Granny handed her a cup of coffee and left to take care of other customers, but Emma barely noticed. The ring was made of magic? That only raised even more questions. It was as if she had a handful of pieces from a 3000 pieces puzzle; she could see that they had to fit together in some way, but how? Pulling out a pen from her pocket, she begun scribbling down what she knew on a napkin. Maybe writing it all down would let her see something she'd missed.

**Memory loss, probably magical, one month**

**Fake relationship with Regina, one month**

Emma frowned at her messy scrawl. Right there, those two time frames were far too similar to be coincidental. Regina had to be hiding something. Had she somehow had a hand in the memory loss?

**Weird ring with wings made of magic**

**Pink smoke**

Those two weren't necessarily connected, but they were clearly related to magic and that was reason enough to suspect some kind of connection. As to what kind of connection, Emma didn't have the slightest clue. Did she put all her non-pink magic into the ring or what?

**Weird flashbacks/visions**

Now _that_ one was strange. Either she was hallucinating or she was actually remembering stuff from the past, like pissing off Hook and cuddling with Regina. The latter didn't make flashbacks a very plausible theory, though.

**Blackmailing Regina - with what???**

She underlined the "with what" several times. What could possibly be enough to blackmail Regina and, more importantly, blackmail her successfully? Regina hadn't killed her yet, so obviously it had to have been a pretty damn foolproof plan. Henry? Running off to New York? Emma couldn't get her head around it.

Suddenly, the bell above the door pinged and Emma was abruptly pulled out of her thoughts by Snow's voice. "Emma!" She had just enough time to shove the napkin down into her pocket and turn around before her mother walked up to her.

"Hi Mom," she said, managing a fairly genuine smile.

Snow cast a glance at the half empty cup on the counter in front of Emma. "I'm having breakfast and it was a while we had some mother-daughter time. Would you like to join me?" she asked with a hopeful expression.

"Sure, it'd be nice," Emma replied, scooting off her stool and following her mother to a booth, coffee cup in hand. It wasn't as if she was getting anywhere with her detective work anyway.

"So, how are things?" Snow asked when Granny had taken her order a few minutes later.

Emma shrugged, her smile dimming slightly. "So-so, I guess."

"Problems with Regina? I noticed how you two were a bit odd yesterday."

"You could say that. I guess things aren't so good between us right now." Emma gazed down at her cup, once again wishing that she could remember the last month. At least then she could focus her efforts on mending things with Regina instead of having to play Cluedo with barely any clues at all.

"Oh, honey," Snow said, covering Emma's hand with her own. "I'm sorry. But you'll work it out, just don't give up."

"I'm not sure working it out is possible this time," Emma mumbled, fiddling with her cup while avoiding her mother's gaze.

"Every couple have ups and downs, especially when the honeymoon phase is over. Even me and David, or you and Regina. The important thing is to not give up." She squeezed Emma's hand. "Like you said, she is worth it. You fit together, Emma."

At that, Emma looked up. "You really think that? I mean, that it could work, me and Regina?" It was stupid to believe any of it, Emma knew that, but she couldn't help the tiny sliver of hope that entered her mind. Maybe, at least their friendship could be salvaged, even if anything more than that was impossible.

"Please," Granny scoffed as she came over to them with Snow's breakfast. "You two have been everything anyone has talked about the last few weeks. 'The perfect romance', blah blah blah. Ruby has practically been squealing every time you've come in here." Stopping next to Emma, she fixed her with a stern stare. "So don't you do anything to mess this up, you hear? You two are good for each other." With that, she walked back to the counter, muttering things under her breath.

"That was... interesting," Emma mumbled, rubbing her neck. She wasn't entirely sure if she should be terrified or happy that Granny was looking out for them. "Anyway, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to fix things. Right now I'm pretty much the last person Regina wants to talk to."

"Oh, you know Regina. When she's hurt, she retreats. You just have to get her out of her shell and talk to her and you'll get it sorted out in no time." Snow gave her a reassuring smile. "And if anyone can coax her out, it's you."


	3. Chapter 3

The bell over the door pinged when Emma exited the diner, starting down a random direction, letting her legs move on their own while she thought back at the talk she'd had with Snow.

With practically everyone she knew – at least according to Snow – believing that her and Regina's relationship was real, Regina's assertion that it wasn't seemed less and less likely. Even Henry and Ruby believed it, and both of them were usually good at calling out – or at least noticing – people's bullshit, especially Henry when it came to his mothers. Besides, hadn't Emma's lie detector pinged when Regina had said it was fake the first time? Somehow that had been buried in her mind and half-forgotten when all the talk of blackmail came up.

Then, of course, there was the tiny detail of a heated make-out session between that Granny had told her about, to Snow's rising embarrassment. About a week earlier, in the diner's bathroom, Emma and Regina had apparently been making out like horny teenagers when Ruby had come in to tell them to take it someplace else. Why would they fake _that_ when no one else obviously was supposed to see? Yeah, the fake relationship theory was sinking fast.

Emma huffed and shoved her hands down into her pockets. Missing making out with Regina pissed her off even more than forgetting a month in general. Still, the way her missing memories made her feel confused and without control irked her to no end. There were too many possibilities, too many things she couldn't trust and too much she just didn't know.

Turning around a corner, the sight of the Town Hall made her stop. She had no idea why she'd walked here, but for some reason she'd actually managed to find Regina. She was with her beloved apple tree outside Town Hall, tending to it and picking a few apples here and there. Upon seeing Emma, she flinched, pulling her lips up into a stiff smile. "Miss Swan."

"Hey." Emma hesitated, not quite sure how to begin.

Regina's smile slowly faded away as the silence drew out. "Do you have something to say or are you just going to stand there all day?"

"We need to talk. What you said about me blackmailing you–"

"Still stands," Regina snapped. "I'm not going to let you do that to me again."

"But... I don't understand," Emma sighed, shoulders dropping. "I mean, a month ago we were on good terms. I'd say we were pretty close to being friends. And then – what? I put a gun to your head or threatened to take Henry? Why would I blackmail you?" She stepped closer to Regina. "Just – I don't know – give me a _reason_. I need to understand why I would do something like that."

Regina scoffed. "Really, you watch too many trashy movies. Of course you didn't threaten me like that; not even you would be that stupid. But consider this: someone holds a thing that has incredible value to you. They'll give it to you, but only in exchange for something that would benefit them. Does that not fit into your narrow definition of blackmail?"

"Wait, I– that's what I did?"

Clenching her jaw, Regina crossed her arms and looked away for a brief moment before meeting Emma's bewildered gaze. "It was an example, Miss Swan. Don't think I'd give you the answer that easily. Or at all, for that matter," she sneered.

"I'm... I'm sorry," Emma stammered. "I–"

But Regina wouldn't have any of it. "I trusted you, Emma, and you used me," she said flatly, although Emma could hear the hurt in her voice. "I'm not sure why I expected anything else; after all, you are your mother's daughter. I suppose it runs in the family."

"Please, Regina, I..." The lump in her throat felt like it was going to suffocate her. "Let me fix this. _Please_. Whatever I did, I didn't mean to hurt you. I _can't_ have," she pleaded.

Regina watched her for a moment, a shadow of sadness passing over her eyes. Then it was gone and she spoke, her voice cold and calm. "No." Her eyes had become hard as flint and her mouth was a thin line. "I've had enough of your family. If you know what's best for you, you'll stay out of my way and out of my life from now on."

"Regina, you can't end it like this," Emma insisted, growing more and more desperate. "Just give me a chance–"

"Goodbye, Miss Swan." And with that, Regina was gone in a cloud of purple smoke.

Emma just stood there, shell-shocked. She felt so cold, as if she'd fallen through the ice of a frozen lake. What had she done that had messed things up this badly? Regina's words replayed in her mind, over and over again. _"I trusted you and you used me."_ Her eyes landed on the apple tree – the one that she butchered with a chainsaw a few years earlier – and she fled, eyes burning with tears she refused to shed.

 

* * *

 

_They were walking down Mifflin Street together, close enough that their arms and hands brushed. Emma was itching to take Regina's hand into her own but their relationship was still new and she wasn't sure how comfortable either of them were with showing anything more than friendship in public. The simple fact that they were on good terms with each other had already turned the rumors into a storm of the century._

_Emma wet her lips and decided to throw caution to the wind, brushing her hand against Regina's and tentatively linking their pinkies together. When Regina didn't pull away, she moved her hand further and slowly interlaced their fingers. Regina's eyes darted down to their linked hands, up to meet Emma's eyes and then back again to the road ahead of them without a word, but Emma didn't miss the sliver of a smile that played on Regina's lips._

_"I like this," Emma mentioned when they arrived at the mansion's porch._

_"Holding hands?" A brow rose in question. "Last time I checked, you were slightly_ older _than Henry." She leaned closer, a smirk on her lips. "And I believe we've done things you've enjoyed much more than this."_

_"That too – both of them – but I was talking about this." Emma gestured between them with her free hand. "This, us. Doing... stuff. Together."_

_"How very eloquent."_

_Rolling her eyes good-naturedly, Emma let go of Regina's hand so she could open the door. "You know what I mean. Not just, you know, sex and stuff. We're good together." She met Regina's dark eyes with a hopeful expression, not entirely sure how she'd react._

_After a moment, Regina's face softened, smiling fondly at Emma. "Promise me one thing, Emma?"_

_"What?"_

_"Never become a public speaker."_

_Emma frowned at her but couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, no worries. Not going to happen." A few seconds passed, Emma awkwardly shifting her weight from leg to leg. "So... I guess I'll be going."_

_Turning around in the foyer, Regina raised an eyebrow at her in silent question._

_"Well– you said you couldn't stay up late because you had stuff to do early tomorrow, so I figured–"_

_"There are other things to do in a bed, Emma. Like sleeping." Her pointed look said more than a thousand instances of "you have a filthy mind"._

_"Oh." Emma could feel a faint blush creep up on her cheeks. "Right."_

_"And we can't have the town koala sleep on her own without anyone to hog the covers from, now can we?"_

_"I don't hog the covers," Emma indignantly insisted. "And I'm definitely not a koala."_

_"Of course not, dear," Regina replied with a infuriatingly condescending smile. "My mistake. It must have been someone else that clung to me like I was their personal teddy bear yesterday morning."_

_"Not my fault that you're so much comfier than a pillow," Emma mumbled as she followed Regina inside._

 

* * *

 

"Hard at work as always," someone said and for a delirious moment, Emma thought it was Regina. But no, when she blinked at the light she found her father entering the sheriff's station with a lazy smile. "Regina would be proud."

At the mention of the ex-mayor's name, Emma groaned and let her head fall back to rest at her desk. At least the last vision/memory/flashback pretty much confirmed the theory that their relationship hadn't been fake. Regina really didn't seem like the type to cuddle with just anyone. It didn't make the fact that she couldn't remember cuddling with Regina any easier to deal with, though.

"Things are a bit rough between you?" Emma heard how David pulled out a chair nearby and sat down.

Emma sighed. "I messed up. Big time," she said in a small voice and lifted herself up from the table. "She won't even talk to me."

"Oh, honey," he murmured, his face dropping. "I'm sorry. I'm here if you want to talk about it."

"Thanks." She sighed again. It would be good to talk with someone, but she doubted David would be much help with her actual problems: the ring, the amnesia and the new color of her magic. She needed someone who had knowledge about magic, but not shady enough to use her lack of memory against her. Someone like... Belle. "Maybe I'll take you up on that later, but I think I'll just get some fresh air right now." Giving him a faint smile, she stood and grabbed her jacket. "But really, thanks."

"Anytime," he nodded, returning the smile. "I'll hold down the fort."

Outside, Emma pulled out her phone and made a quick call.

"Belle? Yeah, it's me, Emma. Are you at the library? Yeah? Do you have time over? I could use help with some... magic stuff. Mhm. Yeah. Great, be there in a few minutes. Bye."

 

* * *

 

Belle greeted her with a warm smile. "Emma! It's good to see you."

"Thanks, you too." Emma shot a few glances around the library, not seeing anyone else but she didn't want to take any chances. "Could we, um, go somewhere more private? I don't want this to get out."

"Oh, sure." She led them into a room in the back where the walls were covered with bookcases filled with old looking books. "I convinced Rumple and Regina to lend the library many of the magic books they own, actually," she explained when she saw Emma's unasked question, "at least the ones that aren't too dangerous. No spell books, for example."

"Nice," Emma mumbled, nodding to herself. "Didn't think they'd part with them that easily."

Giving her a pointed look, Belle chuckled. "I never said it was _easy_. But I managed to convince them," she said with a hint of pride in her voice. "Anyway, what did you need?"

"Right, that." Emma scratched her head, wondering what to begin with. "It's three things, actually. And I really need you to not tell Mr. Gold or anyone else about this."

Belle gave an understanding nod. "My lips are sealed."

"Okay. So, basically, I've forgotten the last month. Completely gone." She started pacing, gesturing with her hands as she spoke. "As far as I know, I haven't had any injuries – and Regina told me it was my own spell that did it – but since I can't remember anything and Regina is acting all weird and not telling me the truth, I can't be sure."

"Regina said you cast an amnesia spell on yourself? That's odd. If anything, I'd say Regina is the most capable magic wielder when it comes to memory manipulation," Belle mused, her brows furrowed. "After all, she gave you and Henry new memories and she gave me an entirely new set of memories."

"Well, I–" Emma stopped dead in her tracks as she remembered what Regina had said to her. "'It's the result of a spell'," she repeated out loud. She blinked, her mouth opening and closing uselessly. Then she laughed, a cold, hard sound. "I'm an idiot. A complete idiot. Even Henry figured it out before me."

Narrowing her eyes, Belle minutely turned her head. "I don't follow."

"She never said _I_ cast the spell; she barely even implied it." Shaking her head, Emma frowned. "She played me, knowing exactly how to get past my so-called 'superpower'," she scoffed. "And I was too caught up in everything else she said that I didn't realize that she basically said that _she_ cast the spell."

"Ah, well, she does know you quite well and if there's one person who's well-versed in manipulation..." Belle let the words hang in the air.

"Yeah," Emma agreed, nodding, a grim expression on her face. It made sense, at least the amnesia part. They got together, something went south and Regina wanted their whole time together erased. The explanation, though, did nothing to help with how disgusted and violated she felt. "Let's just hope that she doesn't do it again when I confront her about it or I'll be back where I started. Again."

"That's not something I think you'll have to worry about," Belle assured her. "While memory spells and curses are easy to cast on unsuspecting people, trying to cast them on a prepared magic user would be difficult, at best. Just be on your guard."

"Oh, I definitely will. There was another thing, by the way." With a heavy sigh, Emma sat down on a chair. "My magic... it's changed color."

"Changed color?"

"The smoke. Look." She poofed a few feet away before poofing back to her chair, leaving two pink clouds of smoke behind. "It's _pink_ ," she muttered, unable to hide her distaste.

"That's odd. I didn't think magic could change color like that. Didn't it use to be white?"

"A month ago, it was. What's happened since, I have no idea." Her eyes snapped up to meet Belle's as a thought hit her. "You don't think it's, uh, darkening or anything? I mean, if you'd darken this pink some more, you could get to Regina's color. Maybe."

Belle's unsure expression wasn't exactly reassuring to Emma.

"Because, the last thing I did before I forgot everything was to drive to Regina's for magic lessons, and then I managed to do something really awful to her this last month. If it blackened my heart..." she trailed off.

"I doubt that would be enough to darken your magic, or your heart either for that matter," Belle tried to assure her. "In fact, I'm not even sure if the color of your heart has anything to do with the color of your magic."

"But you can't be sure." 

"Well of course I can't be certain. Regina or Rumple would know much more about this, but I could do some research if you don't want me to ask them."

Emma didn't want to wait, not if her heart had blackened. It couldn't have, could it? She hadn't killed Hook, hadn't punched anyone or anything else like that. She didn't feel any different than she had a month earlier. Still, she had to know, and there was a simple way to find out. Standing up, she said, "thanks, but I need to find this out now." With that, she pushed her hand inside her chest, wincing at the unusual feeling. At least it didn't hurt nearly as much as it did when Cora had tried.

"Emma, what are you doing?" Belle exclaimed, watching her with almost morbid fascination.

"It's the quickest way. I pull it out and see what it looks like," Emma argued. "I _have_ to know." Grunting, she carefully pulled her hand out, her heart resting in her palm.

Both women's breaths hitched as they stared at the glowing heart, neither of them knowing what to say.

"Belle," Emma murmured, a quiver in her voice. "It's... not supposed to do that." She shot a bewildered look at the librarian. "Is it?"

Belle opened her mouth to respond but couldn't find words, instead shaking her head and pulling up her hands helplessly.

"It's _not_ supposed to do that." Emma stared at her heart again, eyes wide as saucers. "Why is it doing that."

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it," Belle whispered.

They both went silent, staring at the heart. It had no black spots, but instead glowed in a strange color. Its glow was purple, bright purple.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah, I'm beyond sorry for the awful wait for this chapter.
> 
> The good news, however, is that I've finally gotten a feel (and an outline) for how the story is going to unfold. When I started this, I had a vague idea that pretty much imploded the more I poked it, but that should all be fixed now. I'm still not sure about the ending or how long it'll get but I have a much better idea of the general plot. Also, this required a tiny bit of retcon in chapter 1 (only a few lines) which makes it clear that Regina and Emma were somewhat kind of friends before the month in question, instead of just not actively trying to kill each other.
> 
> Also, I loved the all the comments this chapter got! (which makes it even more painful that this chapter took so long) I was kind of blown away by how many there were. Anyway, I'm glad there are/(were) so many of you that read it and I hope you'll stay despite the long wait.
> 
> Enjoy :)

Emma wasn't sure if it was the purple glowing heart inside her chest or the disgust she felt at having had her memory wiped that made her stop her car at Regina's mansion, instead of slamming her foot down on the pedal and leaving the town for good. After all, running was what she did when things got bad – when things overwhelmed her – and she was definitely overwhelmed now.

Turning off the ignition, she let her hand fall down in her lap as she leaned back, trying to collect her thoughts. When she thought about it, overwhelmed was beginning to feel like a gross understatement. While some things was starting to make sense, even more questions seemed to crop up in their wake. She shook her head and exited the car. What she needed to do was to focus on the few leads she had and pursue each one to its end. Focusing on too many things at once would only slow her down.

She hadn't gotten more than halfway to the door when she heard loud voices coming from inside. At once, her body tensed. Was Regina in danger? Her hand went to her gun as she thought through the list of people who still held grudges against Regina.

"–to tell me _this_?" Emma recognized the voice as Tinker Bell's and relaxed, feeling a little silly. Regina could take care of herself. "Seriously? I'm gone for one day – _one whole day_ – and you manage to fuck things up!" Emma's eyebrows went up in surprise. Tink sounded really pissed.

"–for the best," came Regina's muted response, apparently trying to keep things quieter.

"For whose best? Yours? Give me a break."

Regina's reply was too quiet to hear, causing Emma to take a few steps towards the house, her own troubles temporarily forgotten.

"Oh, you mean, since it worked so _fucking_ great last time?"

"Don't delude yourself into thinking you know how things will work out, _fairy_ ," Regina snapped.

"That's fucking rich of you to say–"

"If you're done yelling, we have a guest," Regina cut her off just as Emma realized that she'd walked all the way up onto the porch.

"Fine," Tink muttered. A few seconds later the front door flew open. Seeing who the guest was, Tink's eyes grew wide. "You? You show up _now_? You didn't think you could have come a little earlier?" she barked, snarling at Emma.

"Wow, wait," Emma tried and took a step back, completely taken aback by the anger directed at her. "I don't know–"

Tink snorted dismissively. "Yeah, I know. No memory. And I should probably be the nice little fairy, patching everything up and handing out candy and shit, but you know what?" She shook her head, giving Emma a disdainful look. "You're still an idiot even without your memory and I'm fucking done with this crap."

"Look, I'm sorry if I–"

"No, you're not, because you don't remember. But I don't even care anymore because I've got better things to do. You two can clean up your own damn mess." Shrugging her shoulders, she brought out her wings. "I'm out of here."

Emma stared after her when she flew away, wondering what the hell had just happened. What had _she_ done to piss off Tink so completely?

"I see listening isn't one of your strong suits, Sheriff."

Emma turned around with a frown, suddenly remembering where she was. "What?"

"I believe I told you I didn't want you anywhere near me," Regina said, her voice cold and clipped.

"And that's not good enough," Emma replied, squaring her shoulders. "I've got questions that I want answered and you're going to give them to me."

Regina stayed quiet for a few moments, apparently mulling over her options. "Fine," she muttered finally. "I suppose I can't get rid of you any other way."

 

* * *

 

"So what was that with Tink all about?" Emma asked, sitting down on the sofa in the living room.

"Nothing that concerns you."

"After all the ways she cursed me out? Yeah, I think I'm pretty involved here." When Regina didn't respond, Emma just waved it off with a flick off her hand. "Fine, we'll skip that. For now. Instead, I'd like to know what you've done with my heart."

Snapping her head up, Regina looked completely bewildered. "Your heart? What are you talking about?"

"My heart," Emma repeated, just as surprised by Regina's reaction. Was she really that good at bluffing? "You've done something to it." Wincing minutely, she corrected herself. " _Someone_ has done something with it." She'd followed shaky evidence blindly once; she wouldn't make the same mistake again, regardless of what she felt about Regina's other actions.

"I thought your heart was supposed to be impossible to remove? Didn't my mother get blasted away when she tried to take it?"

"Yeah, well, apparently I can take it out, so maybe it was just a one-time thing or something," Emma muttered, shrugging out of her jacket, feeling uncomfortably warm. Not that it was any surprise, seeing how little Regina usually wore inside her house; dresses weren't exactly known for being overly warming. "I'll just show you." Tossing the jacket aside, she put her hand over her chest and pressed inside before slowly pulling out her pulsing organ. Her pulsing _purple_ organ.

"Oh," Regina breathed, staring at the heart with wide eyes filled with awe or fear – maybe both, but Emma couldn't really tell.

"So? You know why it's like that?"

Just like that, Regina's mask was up again and her eyes devoid of any emotions. "No."

"You're lying."

Regina just shrugged, meeting Emma's gaze with cold indifference.

"What the are you so afraid of?" Emma asked, her frustration growing steadily. "That I'll find out your horrible secret or something? Why do you even care? Why not just curse away my memories again?"

The clenching of Regina's jaw told Emma she'd hit her mark. "I have never cursed you, Emma," Regina murmured, her narrowed eyes burning into Emma's.

"Curse, spell, _I don't care_! What difference does it make?" Emma snapped. "Here's what I know: at some point during the last month, we got into some kind of relationship and something messed up my magic and made my heart glow. Then I did something to piss off Tink and something to freak you out and then you erased my memories." She clenched her jaw and bent forward, leaning her elbows on her knees. "And what I want to know is what gave you the _right_ to violate me like that. I thought we were past that," she hissed.

Regina opened her mouth but then sighed and shook her head. "I didn't do it to violate you." She paused for a moment, working her jaw as she thought about what to say. "It would be best if we just put the last month behind us," she continued, a tiny quaver to her voice.

"You're not even denying it," Emma said incredulously to which Regina simply shrugged. "Well, that's a great suggestion, but you're delusional if you think I'm going to take your word for it after you took away my memories," she scoffed. "I'm _not_ going to let this go until you reverse the spell and tell me what the hell is going on with my heart and my magic."

"And I'm not going to do that," Regina said flatly.

"Damn it, Regina!" Emma exclaimed, frustration claiming what little control she had over her temper. She paused, taking a few deep breaths to try to regain her calm. "Look, I know you're doing this to protect yourself, but this is wrong. You can't just... take my memories whenever you feel you need to. You're better than that. At least I thought you were." She waited for a reaction, _any_ reaction, but Regina's expression stayed as blank as before. "Fine," Emma muttered, getting to her feet and grabbing her jacket. "I'll leave you alone, just like you want to, but don't think for a moment that this is over. I'm going to get my memories back one way or another and when I do, we're going to talk."

Throwing on her jacket, Emma stalked out of the mansion, slamming the door shut behind her.

 

* * *

 

_As soon as the door slammed shut behind them, Regina was on her, pushing her against the door and kissing her hungrily._

_"Aren't you eager," Emma muttered between kisses, smiling as smugly as she could when Regina seemed dead set to devour her completely._

_"I seem to remember it was_ you _who couldn't keep your hands off me," Regina retorted, running her hand down to Emma's ass, "All. Day. Long." She punctuated each statement with kisses down Emma's neck._

_"'Kay," Emma said, pulling Regina closer, "maybe you have a point."_

_Regina chuckled darkly and bit down where Emma's neck and shoulder met. "I_ always _have a point, dear."_

 

* * *

 

Emma shook her head, momentarily disoriented from the sudden flashback. She muttered a few curses, hurrying down to her car, trying in vain to get the images – the sensations, really – out of her head. Now was really not the time to handle those feelings. At all.

Sitting down in the driver's seat, she let out a frustrated breath. The people in town that could help her had just shrunk even more. Tink was obviously off the list, at least for a few days or so until she had calmed down. Regina could help, she just refused. She wasn't even going to ask Mr. Gold, despite his supposed betterment after Neverland and the whole deal with Zelena. Blue was an option... but Emma didn't trust her either.

That didn't leave a whole lot of people. She didn't want her memory loss or anything else to become public knowledge, knowing Storybrooke's tendency to freak out and form mobs as soon as anything happened. That meant her parents and Granny were off the list as well. She could get Ruby to keep quiet, but Ruby didn't know much about magic.

Maybe she could ask one of the other fairies, though. Nova seemed less shady than Blue, at least what little Emma had seen of her. It wasn't the best plan, but it was the best one she had.

The drive to the convent passed in a blur, accompanied by Emma's impatient tapping on the steering wheel. She pulled up just outside and exited the car, happy to see Nova outside the building, on her way in.

"Nova!" Emma called out, hurrying over to the other woman.

"Oh, hello Sheriff," Nova said with a surprised look. "Are you here to see Blue?"

"Just Emma, I'm not here on official business or anything. And no, I'm actually here to see you."

"Me?" Nova let out a forced laugh, clutching her hand together in front of her, a somewhat strained smile on her lips. "Why would you want to see me?"

"What's the matter?" Emma asked, surprised by the instant change in behavior. "Why are you–" She stopped herself, the frustration from before rising yet again. There was really only one reason why Nova would act so nervously. "Regina was here, wasn't she?"

"I–I can't say– I mean, there are a lot of people coming and going all the time here," Nova stammered.

"She was here and she told you not to talk to me," Emma said grimly, muttering a few curses under her breath. If Regina was anything, she sure was thorough. "Look, you've got to give me something here, Nova. What did she say you shouldn't talk to me about?"

Nova swallowed and wrung her hands, scanning the area around her yet again, as if Regina would suddenly pop out of the woodwork without warning.

" _Nova_." Emma stepped closer, frustrated enough to not feel too bad about pressing the fairy. "This might not be official sheriff business, but this is really important. If she talked to you, you _know_ she took my memories of the last month. I need them back, and I need you to help me."

Nova squirmed for a few moments, clearly torn between helping Emma and obeying Regina. "Fine," she sighed. "She told me not to say anything about the last month to you." Nova's eyes shifted to the street and then back. "Nothing at all."

"Yeah, I figured," Emma mumbled. Narrowing her eyes at Nova, an idea began brewing in her mind. "But what if you didn't have to say anything about the last month, but still could help me?"

"I'm... not sure I follow."

"There was a spell or a curse or something that took away my memories. I don't need anyone to tell me what happened, I just need the spell reversed." She raised an eyebrow. "Did Regina say anything about that?"

Nova blinked, clearly surprised by the question. "I don't think so. But Emma, I don't think she would–"

"Nothing will happen to you," Emma stopped her. "She's not that kind of person anymore, regardless of what she threatened you with. And if she actually tries anything, I'll stop her. Okay?" When Nova still hesitated, Emma sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Look, just... if it comes to that, just tell Regina I forced you. Police brutality, threatening to take you in for, I don't know, unlawful amounts of fairy dust or whatever. Just tell her I _made_ you spill what you knew and she'll come after me instead."

Still not looking entirely convinced, Nova nonetheless nodded her agreement. "Alright. I'll do what I can, but I can't promise anything."

"Good," Emma said, shoulders slumping in relief. Finally, something going her way. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Blue or anyone else about this. I want as few people as possible to know, alright?"

"Not a problem," Nova replied, looking a bit relieved herself.

"Okay. Meet me in the library tomorrow and we'll get started."

"The library?" Nova asked warily. 

"Yeah, Belle's there and she already knows about this. Besides, some of her books might help us." As Nova opened her mouth to speak again, Emma held up her hand. "Don't worry, he doesn't know. I trust Belle."

"If you say so," Nova replied. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

After a quick goodbye, Emma headed back to her Bug. For the first time since her memory loss, she felt as if she was beginning to get a grasp on the situation, or at least beginning to have something constructive to do. It felt a little like being back in Boston, hunting bail jumpers and searching for leads. And it felt like she was on the right track.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I'm really sorry for making some of you worry that I was abandoning the fic altogether. The answer to that is **no**. The updates might be irregular and/or far and few between, but I will finish this fic. There's a lot left before that's going to happen, though.
> 
> Thanks for reading and thanks for staying with me and this fic. You're all awesome <3

Emma entered the library next day to find Nova already there, chatting quietly with Belle.

"Emma," Belle greeted her before leading the three of them into the room in the back. "We've already talked about what we can try to do, and Nova brought some fairy dust which should help a lot."

"Blue let you take fairy dust?" Emma asked. "I thought she was pretty strict with that stuff."

"She's gotten a bit more easy-going since Tinker Bell came back," Nova explained with a faint smile. "And she trusts me."

Belle pulled out a few books and put them down on the table in the middle of the room. "I found a these that might prove useful. As soon as we use the fairy dust on you, we might find something in them about whatever spell or curse that you're under."

"So, how does this work?" Emma asked, hands shoved down in her pockets and feeling a bit awkward, both from not being more help and from wondering exactly what the dust would do to her. "You sprinkle it on me and then... what?"

"It works kind of like how blowing smoke on a laser beam; it makes it visible without really touching or disturbing it," Belle explained as Nova pulled out a small pouch from her bag. "We should be able to see a visible manifestation of sorts of the magic that took away your memory."

"A manifestation?" Emma scrunched up her face in confusion, looking from Belle to Nova and back again. "What, like some kind of smoke... light creature or something is going to show up?"

"You're probably just going to glow," Nova told her with an apologetic smile.

"Oh." It wasn't like she had _hoped_ for a magic creature to appear but a glow just seemed so mundane. "Let's do it. Whenever you're ready."

Nova nodded and carefully opened the pouch, revealing a small amount of glittery dust inside. After a moment of concentration, she took a deep breath and blew the fairy dust at Emma. It flowed towards her as if pulled in by something, but Emma couldn't feel anything when it hit her skin. A few seconds passed and then she began to glow with a bright white light.

"Okay," Emma said, not quite sure how to react. "Okay, I'm glowing."

Both Nova and Belle just stared at her without saying anything.

"Guys? Is it good or is it bad?" Emma asked impatiently as panic began to seep into her voice. This was her damn glowing heart all over again.

"I, uh..." Belle shook her head and turned to one of her books, quickly seeking out a certain page. "It's... strange."

"Good strange or bad strange, Belle?" The glow was beginning to feel worse and worse against her skin, even though it technically didn't register at all. "Just tell me already."

"Well..." Belle cleared her throat awkwardly and glanced over at Nova who still appeared to be in a mild state of shock. "The glow represents what kind of magic was used. The white means it's light magic, it's not a curse and it probably isn't even Regina's magic."

"But Regina has used light magic before?"

Belle shook her head. "Her magic's color is still purple, just like the color of her smoke when she transports herself."

"And my magic's color just happens to be white, like my smoke was before it turned pink," Emma said slowly, realization dawning on her. "So I must have cast the spell on myself after all."

"We don't know that, there might be some other explanation. Maybe someone else has got light, white magic," Belle tried, but Emma wasn't having it.

"No, this is my magic. I recognize the smell."

Belle's face lit up with curiosity at that. "You can smell your magic? Do different kinds of magic smell differently?"

"I guess I can," Emma said absentmindedly as the last of the magic glow faded away. "I haven't really thought about it." She started pacing, growing more frustrated by the second. "This makes no _sense_. Why would I give myself memory loss?" She looked over at Nova who had been oddly quiet ever since she had used the fairy dust. "Nova? Any thoughts?"

"Oh, ah, no. Nothing comes to mind," she replied with an unconvincing smile.

Emma didn't even need her superpower to tell that she wasn't being told the truth. "Come on, I know you're hiding something. If Regina threatened you in any way–"

"I don't know anything," Nova insisted, wringing her hands tightly. "I really wish I could help you, but I can't."

"Nova–"

" _I can't_. I'm sorry." She hurried out of the library before anyone had time to say anything else.

Belle gave Emma a confused look, surprised by Nova's abrupt exit. "What was that all about?"

Emma sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Regina got to her. I don't know how, but she's got something on Nova to keep her quiet. I have no idea what. Honestly, I'm surprised Regina hasn't gone after you too by now."

"Maybe she doesn't thinks I'm any kind of a threat to her," Belle muttered, shrugging. "Or she just don't want to mess with the Dark One's wife."

"Regardless, I'm glad you're here to help me," Emma smiled weakly.

Belle returned the smile easily. "I'm just happy to help. Anyway, since whatever took away your memory is light magic, it isn't a curse. And that means it can't be removed the old-fashioned way."

"The old– _oh_." Emma let out a mirthless chuckle. "I guess that's what she meant," she muttered. When Belle just looked at her questioningly, she went on to explain, "Regina made a point of telling me that she hadn't cursed me when we talked. Apparently she felt the need to point out that she had only cast a _spell_ on me, not a curse." She frowned and shook her head. "I still don't get how she did it though, how she was able to use my own magic against me. She couldn't have forced me with my heart because I know she was genuinely surprised when I told her I could take it out myself."

"And you're _sure_ it was your magic?"

"I know how it smells, and I know how Regina's smells," she said adamantly. "Her magic doesn't smell at all the same." It was warmer somehow, softer and darker. It smelled like home...

 

* * *

 

_Emma awoke to the smell of pancakes. Smiling, she sat up in the bed, the initial empty feeling of a cold bed beside her quickly replaced by hunger. Cuddling in the morning was nice and all but waking up to Regina's cooking was a damn strong contender. Yawning widely, she hopped out of the bed and shuffled off towards the kitchen, letting her nose lead her._

_She found Regina in the kitchen wearing nothing more than an oversized flannel shirt, humming softly to herself while she made pancakes. Just as Emma entered, she flicked her finger, flipping the pancake with her magic._

_"So you_ do _cheat when you're cooking," Emma muttered, snaking her arms around Regina's waist from behind and leaning her chin on Regina's shoulder. "I knew you were to good to be true."_

_"It's not cheating," Regina argued haughtily, squirming a little in Emma's arms. "It's a perfectly legitimate way to cook."_

_Emma hummed in response, nuzzling her nose against Regina's neck and yawning again. "Well, I like it. You magic smells good. Especially with pancakes." She sniffed the air, a lazy smile playing across her lips. "Really good."_

_Regina chuckled, arching into Emma's touch. "I'm glad you approve."_

 

* * *

 

"Emma? Are you okay?"

Emma blinked, trying to regain her bearings. "Uh, yeah. I was just... I keep having these flashbacks – at least I think they are – from the month I can't remember. I just had one."

"Anything that might help? Any clues about what kind of spell was used?"

"No," Emma mumbled, the memory of the flashback lingering in her mind. "No, nothing like that. It has just been these random little moments here and there. Nothing helpful."

"Even so, it's a good sign. It means that they're not removed entirely, just buried or hidden." Belle smiled encouragingly, patting Emma on the arm. "I'll see what I can find out about memory spells and light magic and anything else remotely related, okay? We'll figure something out."

"See if you can find anything about mind control spells or curses too. I mean, if my magic was used I either cast the spell myself or someone made me, and if my heart wasn't used, then maybe something else."

Belle didn't look entirely on board with the suggestion but she nodded nonetheless. "Just remember, I can't promise I'll find anything. This isn't like with the usual memory altering curses; since it's not a curse, I'm not even sure there's a potion to fix this. You might want to check with Rumple or the fairies too. My knowledge isn't even close to theirs."

"No offense to Gold, but I'd rather keep him out of this right now," Emma winced. "The fewer that know about this, the better. If you turn up empty... maybe. We'll see." She managed a weak smile. "Who knows, maybe the memories will return on their own."

She left the library a little while later, feeling like she had hit another dead end. Sure, technically she could still ask Blue or Mr. Gold for help, but those were hardly attractive options. No matter how much Mr. Gold had been redeemed and no matter how "good" Blue was, Emma could never shake the uneasy feeling she got around them. They knew too much and revealed to little to ever be considered trustworthy in her book.

With no other options to use other than to wait for more flashbacks or for Belle to maybe – hopefully – find something, Emma figured the only thing left to do was to lay low and keep working until something new revealed itself or a flashback showed her something useful. Right now she would take anything, no matter how small.

 

* * *

 

It was a few days later that something finally did happen, although not even close to what Emma had hoped for.

Emma sat in the sheriff's station, doodling on a piece of paper. The town was as quiet as it ever got, with an alarming lack of villains or even your run of the mill monsters or magic creatures. In fact, Emma was pretty sure that the woman sitting in front of her was one of the top contenders for scariest monster of Storybrooke and seeing how that was Ruby, the bar wasn't set particularly high.

"Are you sure you told him to beat it?" Ruby asked, balancing her chair on its back legs while putting another french fry in her mouth.

"Positive," Emma yawned. "But he just doesn't get it. I swear, next time he shoves his ring in my face I'm going to shove it right back down his throat."

" _Someone's_ a little excessively aggressive."

"You try being nice after being hounded by that damn pirate all the time," Emma grumbled, crumpling her paper to a ball and throwing it at the waste bin. It hit the edge and bounced off, much to Emma's chagrin. "Although, from what I heard, you already have someone."

Ruby's attempt at nonchalance failed miserably as she couldn't hold back a wide, toothy grin at the mention of her "someone".

"Come on, Rubes, we're friends," Emma urged her, a whine to her voice, "the town is dead and there is literally _nothing_ else for me to do. Who is it?"

Ruby said nothing, but her grin turned – if possible – even more salacious.

"Damn," Emma muttered. "That good?" She peered questioningly at her friend, lips pursed in thought. "Please tell me it isn't Whale."

At that, Ruby promptly choked on her soda. "Shit, Em," she wheezed, "warn me before you say something like that next time, okay?"

"Hey, it's not _that_ much of a stretch, is it?"

Rolling her eyes, Ruby cleared her throat a few more times, trying to get back her to usual breathing rhythm. "I've talked to him a few times. He has ogled my ass a whole lot more than that. It's hardly the foundation of a great relationship."

"Then who is it? Do I know them?" When Ruby didn't deny it, she leaned back in her chair with a smile, mentally patting herself on the back. "I do know him. Or her?" Once again, Ruby didn't deny it. The faint tinge of pink that was starting to build up on Ruby's cheeks also helped confirm her guesses. "So, some woman I know."

Ruby let her chair fall forward and looked around conspiratorially before leaning forward and stage whispering, "Let's just say that she is _royally_ pissed with you right now."

"Wait, royally? Kathryn? Or– Regina? No, that can't–" Her eyes widened as she finally figured it out. "You're dating Tink?"

"Yup," Ruby replied with a toothy grin.

"For how long? How did I not know this?" Emma had to admit that she felt a little put off by it, not knowing something as important about one of her best friends as who she was dating.

Ruby rubbed her neck, looking a little guilty. "A couple of weeks. We're keeping it on the down low for now, so you can't tell anyone." She made a face. "You wouldn't believe how many people actually love to gossip about my personal life."

"Just let me know if you need me to bust a stalker or anything."

"Seeing how I can turn into a horse-sized wolf, I think I've got the intimidation part down," Ruby said with a chuckle. "Anyway, enough about my love life. How's it going with you and Regina?"

Emma scoffed, her mood immediately dropping. She hadn't heard anything from Regina since she had confronted her in her mansion and she was fairly sure Regina hadn't warmed up to her on her own since then. "Pretty crappy," she mumbled, doodling an angry little stick figure on the police report in front of her. It had a disproportionately large fireball in its right hand and a stylized lightning in its left. It looked very angry. She guessed it was a reasonable approximation of what Regina would look like if Emma went to see her.

"That bad, huh?"

"I doubt she'd even piss on me if I was on fire at this point. She won't even tell me why she's angry," Emma grumbled. It wasn't the least bit fair; all she had was these tiny fragments of memories, all various degrees of sickening sweetness. After almost a week of regular flashbacks, she was beginning to see why Ruby had dubbed her and Regina couple of the year. 

Ruby's expression turned thoughtful. "She can be a little–"

The phone suddenly ringing interrupted their conversation. "You want to bet it's some old lady's cat again?" Emma muttered and moved to answer, but Ruby was faster and snatched up the receiver.

"Sheriff's station, how can I– woha, wait, slow down. A fire? Where?" Ruby's eyes were wide as saucers and she was paler than Emma had ever seen her when she held out the receiver for Emma. "You should take this. The library's on fire."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, week two of weekly updates! Thanks for all the comments, it's lovely to see that people still follow this fic :)

The library was still standing but apart from that, it was ruined. The fire had ravaged almost every inch of it, charring most books beyond recognition. Despite that, no one had been hurt and Belle had gotten away with mere shock and some burn marks on her clothes.

Emma stood by one of the fire trucks, watching the firefighters weaving in and out of the building while Ruby was over by the ambulance, fussing over Belle. A crowd had gathered as well, but they kept a respectful distance after a Emma had barked a few choice words at some of the more inquisitive people.

"Alright, Sheriff, it should be safe to go inside now," the firefighter in charge – a lieutenant Jenkins – told her. "There shouldn't be any risk of collapse; luckily the fire didn't have time to weaken the building too much."

"Good. Any ideas on what caused it yet?" She couldn't shake the feeling that it had something to do with what Belle had been researching and by extension with whatever had happened to Emma during the lost month.

Jenkins didn't reply immediately. "I... wouldn't want to speculate."

Emma turned to look at him with narrowed eyes. "But you know something," she pressed, crossing her arms. "Look, if you're telling me that this wasn't an accident, I need to know and I need to know _right now_."

"The fire was started at several places at once," Jenkins begun, taking off his helmet and twisting it around in his hands. "We couldn't find any obvious natural cause at any of the fire's places of origin, so yes, I don't think this was an accident."

"There's something else you're not telling me." Maybe it wasn't her "superpower", but she could read people well enough to see he was holding something back.

Jenkins winced and gripped his helmet a little harder. "Yeah." He hesitated again, throwing a thoughtful look at the still smoking remains of the library. "I'll tell you what I know, but I would appreciate if you kept my name away from the public as much as possible. I'm just a firefighter here and I don't want to get dragged into something like this."

"'Something like this'?" Emma cursed silently. As if things weren't complicated enough. "Is this about the Enchanted Forest? I'll do my best to keep your name out of this. Just tell me what you know."

Gesturing Emma to follow, he stepped away from the firetruck, farther away from prying eyes and ears. "Had this been any other town, this fire wouldn't have made any sense. I'm not an expert on this, but from what I can tell, the fire started without any kind of accelerant used."

"What do you mean?"

"We couldn't find any trace of fuel that would have been used to start the fire, and it started too hot for someone to only have used a lighter or matches. Even Molotov cocktails would have left glass behind. So either someone used a small, very focused flame thrower..."

"Or someone started the fire with magic. Fireballs," Emma grimly filled in. "You're sure about this?"

Jenkins leaned closer, voice lowered. "I used to be a fire watchman in Queen Regina's castle. I've seen this before."

"Okay. Thanks." She nodded stiffly and walked back towards the library, head spinning from the revelations.

"Sheriff!" One of the firefighters beckoned her over. "We've got some folks who said they saw something. Someone leaving the library around the time the fire was set."

Both excited for some leads and worried about what she would find, Emma walked up to the small group: the firefighter, a woman Emma didn't recognize, and Tom Clark, the pharmacist.

"You saw something?" Emma prompted him.

"Regina was there," he exclaimed, his expression hard and determined. "Regina did it."

Emma's heart plummeted so fast she could swear she heard it hit the ground with a splat. This day really had a knack for turning from bad to worse in seconds. "Wait, slow down. _Exactly_ what did you see?"

Tom sighed testily. "I was going to meet Doc for lunch when I passed by the library and I saw Regina– _a woman_ peering out through the window." He gave Emma a bored look. "A woman who looked exactly like Regina. Newsflash: your girlfriend is a–"

Emma took a step forward, glaring at the shorter man menacingly. "You sure you want to finish that sentence?"

"I... never mind." Tom slunk back. "Look, I told you what I know. Can I go now? I need to open my shop."

Waving him off with a grunt, Emma turned to look at the other witness. She would bet a year's salary that the other witness would corroborate Tom's story. Despite his lingering animosity towards Regina, Emma's lie detector hadn't pinged and he didn't have any obvious reason to lie. Emma let out a tired sigh and made her way over to Ruby and Belle who had now been joined by Mr. Gold. This was all beginning to feel like a horrible repeat of the fiasco with Archie's faked death and the resulting witch hunt.

"How do you feel?" she asked Belle, managing a small smile.

Belle shrugged off the jacket someone had put around her shoulders and straightened, smiling weakly up from where she sat on the edge of the back of the ambulance. "Better. I'll need some new clothes but otherwise I'm fine." Moving her gaze to the library, her face fell. "How is the library? Did all of it... did anything survive?"

"I'm not sure. I thought we could take a look inside." She nodded at the firefighters. "They say it's safe to go in."

"Well, no point in waiting around, right?" Belle said with forced cheerfulness, getting to her legs. "Better to just get it over with."

"I'm coming too," Ruby and Gold said in unison before exchanging glares.

"Sorry," Emma told them, "but this is a police investigation and I can't have you both in there potentially contaminating the crime scene." As they predictably flooded her with questions, Emma held up her hand. "I can't tell you any more than that right now. And don't worry, nothing will happen to Belle."

 

* * *

 

The smell of wet ash stung in Emma's nose as she stepped inside the library, trailing after Belle. Everything was scorched black, with some small tendrils of smoke escaping the still hot surfaces here and there. Most books looked burned beyond recognition and the further into the library they went, the more Emma's heart sank. Cleaning up and renovating the building would be one hell of a job.

"How are you holding up?" she said quietly, walking up to Belle where she stood in the middle of the room, eyes raking over the destruction.

"Not... not good." She turned, fixing Emma with pain in her eyes. "Who would do something like this? Was someone trying to kill me? Or just setting a fire for sport? Or–" She abruptly stopped herself and dashed into the back room where she and Emma had talked only a few days before. "No..."

The room was even worse hit than the others, save for a few untouched book where their innate enchantments had protected them from the fire. Emma could see what Jenkins had talked about – at least she thought she could – with all the bookcases looking as if the fire had ravaged them more than the floor or anywhere else. It sure did look like someone had gone after the books.

"We'll find who did this, Belle," Emma promised.

Belle didn't reply, hugging herself as she took in everything. Then something in her posture subtly changed; she relaxed a little and frowned, taking a tentative step towards one of the bookshelves. "Wait," she mumbled. Carefully, she approached it, running her fingers over the sooty backs of the books. "There's a missing book here." She took a step back and ran her eyes over the bookshelves. "And another one over there. I think... at least two more." When Emma didn't react, she spun around, face set in determination. "Whoever set the fire stole these books."

Emma eyed the bookshelves skeptically. She couldn't see any signs of missing books; there were gaps between the books all over the place. "You're sure? I can't even tell if a book is missing or not. You're sure you didn't just put them someplace else?"

"I know my library. Those books where there this morning," Belle insisted.

"And no one else could have taken them?"

Belle chuckled dryly. "The library isn't exactly teeming with activity. No one was there except me the whole morning unless they climbed in through the window." She sighed. "I just wish I had gotten around to cataloging them better, then I would have known what they were after." Frowning again, her eyes grew unfocused, momentarily lost in thought. "I think one of them had something to do with magical creatures... I _knew_ I should have done this earlier," she berated herself.

"You know what they say about hindsight," Emma mumbled. "Can you tell if any of the books were in any way related to what you were researching for me?"

A few minutes passed as Belle made her way through the small room, checking the bookshelves, pulling out seemingly random books here and there. "One of them, I think," she finally decided. "I was going to read it but I hadn't come around to it yet, either. It was one of Rumple's tomes about memory and the mind."

"Figures." Emma paused, feeling bile rising in her throat. Either her lost month had fucked up Regina more than she had thought, or someone was doing their best to frame her. Emma didn't like either of those two options. "Did you see _anyone_ before the fire? Anyone suspicious at all the last few days?"

Belle gave her a helpless look. "No, no one at all. It has been as uneventful as it gets around here. I wish I could be of more help–"

"What about Regina? Have you seen her?"

"No. I haven't talked to her in weeks, at least." Her expression grew confused. "Wait, do you really think she would do this? I mean, I'm not exactly in her fan club or anything, but _this_... she has changed. Even I've seen that."

Emma shrugged and smiled wryly. "Then someone has done a hell of a job setting her up. _Again_."

 

* * *

 

Emma pulled the car in for a stop in front of 108 Mifflin Street, resisting the urge to check her hair in the rear-view mirror. Instead she just closed her eyes and took a deep breath before stepping out and heading for the front door. The walk up to Regina's front porch felt much longer than she remembered it, the large mansion looming in front of her, almost daring her to turn tail and run. But as much as she wanted to give the one-finger salute to her job and then go home and sleep for a few years, she knew she couldn't. She had a job to do, and that was to bring Regina Mills in for questioning, preferably without anyone getting hurt. Reaching the porch, she rubbed her sweaty palms against her thighs – again – and then pressed the doorbell.

"Do I have to call your parents to get you to stop pestering me, Swan?" Regina said as soon as she opened the door. "What do you want this time?"

"I need to bring you in for questioning, Regina."

"Questioning?" Regina chuckled derisively. "For what? If anyone, you should be arrested for harassment."

"Someone torched the library."

Regina's posture faltered at the mention, her face going pale. "Is Belle alright?"

"She's fine, no one was hurt," Emma told her, what little suspicions she had towards Regina falling away as she saw the genuine worry in her eyes.

"And... I'm a suspect?" Regina asked incredulously, her walls coming up as quickly as the had gone. "If this is your way of trying to get me to talk–"

"The last month has nothing to do with this," Emma snapped. "I've got evidence and two witnesses placing you on the scene. Where were you today between 9 AM and 1 PM?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "This is ridiculous. I was _here_. I haven't left my house the whole day. And _no_ , I don't have an alibi. I took Henry to school in the morning and then went back here right after." She tilted her head to the side, an unreadable expression flitting across her face. "Do you really think I would do something like this?"

"No," Emma said bluntly, "but my hands are tied right now and you're the only lead I've got."

Tension simmered in the air while the seconds ticked by, a silent battle of wills being raged between the two women. Finally, Regina relented. "Fine. I'll humor you," she muttered and stepped out without another word, closing the door behind her with a flick of her finger and following Emma down to the car.

 

* * *

 

"Your so-called 'evidence' is a joke," Regina scoffed. They were in the interrogation room at the station and Emma had just confronted her with the evidence. Needless to say, Regina wasn't impressed.

"I know it is, but it's all I've got right now." Emma got up from her chair and started pacing. "Someone looking like you was seen in the library this morning, setting fire to the place with what looked like fireballs, _specifically_ targeting the magic books, and then disappearing without a trace all the while you were at home without an alibi. What am I supposed to do with that?"

"Thinking would be a good start." Seeing Emma's glare, she shook her head and sighed in irritation. "Anyone could have pretended to be me. All you need is a spell, a potion, fairy dust, an enchanted necklace... do you even know how many magical artifacts are loose in this town?"

"I don't think I want to know," Emma muttered. "What about getting away without being seen? Poofing or an invisibility spell or something?"

"Or they could have transformed into a mouse or a moth," Regina drawled. "It's not that difficult. Even your mother has managed it, hasn't she?"

Emma let the jab slide. "And the fireballs?"

At that, Regina lost some of her confidence. "I'm not sure. I haven't seen any potions for that." She thought for a moment. "Although, if you have some fairy dust, you could probably do something similar. Pyrokinesis isn't particularly hard to master."

Emma sat down heavily in her chair. "So you're saying basically anyone in Storybrooke could be behind this. That's just fucking _great_." She was tired, she was nowhere closer to getting her memories back, and now someone was going after Regina and she barely had any leads. On top of that, she was too warm again. Muttering a few curses under her breath, she pulled off her jacket and tossed it carelessly over the back of her chair.

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, both lost in thought.

"This still doesn't explain the missing books, though," Emma pointed out, studying Regina carefully. "One of them just happened to be a book about _memory_."

"Like you said, whoever it is wants to frame me," Regina countered.

"They just happened to know about my memory problem?"

"I don't know!" Regina snapped. She clenched her jaw tightly, leaning back in her chair with crossed arms. "I didn't do it. You _said_ you believed me."

"I do. But I think you know who did it, even if you weren't involved. I haven't told anyone else about what happened, except Belle and Nova."

Regina's lips curled up in a mocking smirk. "Well then, I do hope you bring in Nova for questioning. She has magic, she knows about your memory loss–"

"And she's got no motive whatsoever," Emma firmly cut her off. "But you do."

Regina chuckled, the smirk never leaving her face. "I didn't steal those books. You know why?" She leaned forward, staring into Emma's eyes with a wicked glint in her own. " _Because I know no amount of research is going to bring your memory back._ "

Emma leaned forward, matching Regina's position until their faces were mere inches apart. She felt almost like she was back in that first year in Storybrooke, in a constant battle of will and wit with the mayor. "We'll see about that, won't we?" With a quick motion, she pushed herself away from the table and stood. "I need some air," she muttered and left the room.

As soon as she closed the door behind her, she sighed and leaned against the wall. Despite Regina's taunting, Emma still believed she was innocent. No matter what, she couldn't have changed that much in just a month, and the Regina Emma knew before her memory loss would never do something like that. But if she was innocent, who could it be? Both the timing and the details of the crime was too specific for the culprit to be some random guy who just happened to hold a general grudge against Regina. Something just didn't smell right.

She blinked, a thought hitting her. It was a long shot but it might at least rule out Regina, if it worked. Pulling out her phone, she dialed Ruby.

"Hey Rubes, I need you at the library. Right now. I might have a new lead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies to actual fire investigators/fighters who know shit about fire accelerants and stuff. I do not. I hope it didn't show. I read up about it a bit (I'm a sucker for research after all) but I'm the definition of layperson soooo eh.
> 
> Also the Storybrooke police department is a HUGE BLOODY MESS and with that I mean it is tiny and it doesn't make any sense whatsoever. I'll probably address it at some point because ughhh this can not stand. Why are there a bunch of desks in the station when there is only one sheriff? What happens when the sheriff goes on vacation? Do the criminals go on vacation too? I have no idea but well imma fix it. Somehow.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the (albeit comparatively minor) wait! I was on a week long vacation and with three active WIPs some sacrifices had to made. Hopefully I'm more or less back on track now. We'll see.
> 
> On the upside, this chapter is a little longer than usual. Enjoy and thanks for reading :)

When Emma, Regina and Ruby returned to the library, the place was all but deserted. The police tape at the door and ash marks on the ground were the only reminders of the fire from earlier that day.

"And exactly what do you plan to accomplish with this, Miss Swan?" Regina asked, giving Ruby a none too impressed look.

"I figured that there might be some lingering smells still in there," Emma explained. "Maybe something from the culprit that Ruby can sense."

Ruby eyed the library skeptically. "With all the firefighters and everything that have been in there, I doubt I'll be able to pick out anything."

"Actually, I was talking about something else," Emma told her, looking a little smug. Conjuring a small fireball, she nodded towards it. "Can you smell this?"

Ruby's expression only grew more skeptical. "The fire?"

"No, the magic. Since you're a magic being... something, I figured you might be able to sense it. Werewolf senses and all." After all, Granny had sensed the magic in her ring and Emma had noticed the different between her own and Regina's magic, so it wasn't too much of a stretch to guess that Ruby's more sensitive nose would be able to pick up even fainter scents.

Frowning, Ruby tilted her head and regarded the flame for a few moments, then nodded slowly. "I think I do," she said, eyes widening in surprise. "It's... weird. It's not quite a smell, but it's close."

"Awesome. Regina, now you do one."

Regina rolled her eyes but didn't offer any objections, conjuring up a fireball of her own.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, a burgeoning grin pulling on her lips. "Yeah, that's got a different smell. Cool! You want me to check for that inside?"

"Anything like that. Mine or Regina's or someone else's if you can. Anything can help."

"Sure thing! Be right back," Ruby said and headed over to the library, ducking under the police tape and disappearing inside.

Regina and Emma waited in silence for a while, the mood in the air between them not quite awkward, but not entirely pleasant either. Once again, Emma was reminded of the days before the first curse broke and their – in some ways – much less complicated relationship back then. 

Eventually, Regina broke the silence. "How did you know about that? The smell?"

Emma cast a glance at Regina's face, finding her expression oddly blank. "I'm not sure. It was more of a coincidence than anything else." She paused, wondering how much to tell Regina. On one hand, she trusted Regina with her life, yet on the other – at least when it came to her memory – they were essentially on opposite sides again. "I remembered how your magic smelled, actually." She winced and mumbled, "Although that sounds kind of weird now that I say it."

"Indeed it does," Regina muttered, her eyes still fixed on the library.

As much as Emma would have wanted to continue their conversation, while she racked her brain for something more to say, Ruby exited the library and joined them.

"So?" Regina prompted as soon as Ruby was within earshot.

Emma was surprised that Regina wasn't tapping her feet against the ground already. Although when Emma thought about it, it wasn't exactly impatience that Regina's body language spoke of – instead it reminded Emma more of the tense moments after the second curse had brought everyone back to Storybrooke and Regina was once again painted as a villain to no fault of her own. Her jaw was tight, her eyes hard, and her arms protectively wrapped around her midriff. Emma's heart sank at the sight.

"No trace of Regina's magic. I did catch a hint of Emma's, though, and a lot of fairy dust. Pretty sure I recognize it from Ti– from a friend." Ruby chuckled sheepishly and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. "And uh, all that ash and dust in there made me sneeze a lot, that was why it took so long. Sorry."

"Good." Raising her nose and uncrossing her arms, Regina went from vulnerable and uncomfortable to cold and regal in a heartbeat. "May I leave now? If fairy dust was involved, anyone with rudimentary hand-eye coordination could have done it, Miss Swan. I suggest you speak to the fairies." Regina turned to leave without waiting for an answer but stopped a few steps away and glanced over her shoulder. "Oh, and perhaps ask your parents and the rest of that incompetent horde that runs the city now to add some laws against reckless use of magic. If the fairies can't keep their dust out of the hands of criminals, perhaps the law enforcement should." With that said, she disappeared in a cloud of purple.

"Damn, she's really pissed at you," Ruby mumbled.

"No shit."

"So, what now?"

Emma squinted at the library, deep in thought. "You're sure about what you found in there?"

"Yup, just your magic and the fairy dust. The fairy dust's scent was pretty strong, too."

"That makes sense, seeing how my magic was from a couple of days ago," Emma mused. After a few moments of unproductive thought, she shook her head and took out her phone. "Well, Regina was right about one thing: we should talk to the fairies. If there's a bunch of entry-level magic dust loose in the town, I want to know about it."

Ruby glanced at her own phone and gave Emma an apologetic smile. "Shit. Sorry, as much as I would like to help you, I need to head back to the diner. Granny's going to kill me if I'm not there really soon."

"Oh, right. Of course." She couldn't help the twinge of disappointment, even though she knew Ruby had a job of her own. After Emma returned to Storybrooke from New York and reclaimed her job, David decided to split his work between the animal shelter, the city council, and the sheriff's station depending on where he was needed. Despite the fairly low crime rate, the days he wasn't working Emma found herself realizing more and more that she needed a full-time partner. Or three.

"Just call me if you need any more help, okay?" Something flitted over Ruby's expression for a split second, oddly hollow for someone usually so bright and upbeat. "It's a nice change of pace." She opened her mouth as if to say something else, but then the look was gone and she was back to normal. "And come by the diner sometime soon; we haven't hung out in a while."

Emma returned the smile. "Sure thing."

 

* * *

 

Little over an hour later, Emma led the Blue Fairy into the interrogation room in the police station. She was grasping at straws – she knew that all too well – but it was all she could do. Without any credible suspects or any other leads, she had to go with the one lead she had: the fairy dust.

"Thanks for coming in so quickly." She sat down and gestured to the unoccupied chair. "Have a seat."

Blue sat down across from Emma and put her hands neatly on the table. "Of course. Is this about the library? I heard about the fire. I hope no one was hurt."

"Belle's a little shaken up but everyone else is okay. The reason I wanted to speak with you is that we think the fire was started with magic. We found evidence that someone used fairy dust inside the library."

"Fairy dust?" Blue's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I didn't think it would be used like that," she mumbled to herself, shaking her head. "Someone took fairy dust without permission a little while back. I didn't think they'd use it for something like this, though, of course. The few times it has happened before it has always been used for much less destructive things."

Frowning, Emma found her mood dropping even lower. "Any reason why you didn't report the theft? If we had known earlier–"

"I doubt you would have been able to stop anything," Blue cut her off dismissively. "Even in a town as small as this, your police force isn't exactly imposing. I decided it was better if we dealt with this ourselves instead of bothering the police."

"Dealing with thieves is _my_ job, not yours," Emma retorted sharply. "And you're on the city council, you could have given me a bigger budget already instead of just stalling. It has been months."

Blue let out a exasperated sigh. "I don't run the council, Sheriff. Perhaps you should take this up with your parents and the other council members."

"Maybe I should." Not wanting to be pulled of track, Emma changed the topic. "Do you have any idea on who could have taken the fairy dust?"

"None of my fairies would set fire to the library, if that's what you're implying. And yes, I'm aware that Nova took some a few days ago, but I highly doubt she did _this_."

"I'm not implying anything, I just want to find who did this." Leaning forward, she looked Blue right in the eyes. She didn't need her superpower to know that Blue was hiding something – her evasive answer was proof enough. "If you know something, you need to tell me."

Blue offered her a vaguely condescending smile. "I've told you everything you need to know. Now, if we're done here–"

" _We're not._ "

The silence that filled the room was almost deafening. Blue didn't seem all that affected by Emma's words, but something about her struck Emma as off – even more off than usual. A tiny shiver went up Emma spine even as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, hoping her growing uneasiness didn't show. It was easy to forget that the woman in front of her was one of the oldest and arguably most powerful magical beings in Storybrooke when she looked so mundane. 

"Here's the deal," Emma continued, her voice calmer, yet with an edge to it. "We both know you're hiding something. Maybe one of your fairies was careless with who she gave fairy dust to, or you or someone you know saw something. Honestly, right now, I don't really care how or why someone got hold of the dust; what I want to know is how much dust is left loose in town and who has it."

Blue didn't answer at first, staring back at Emma with a blank expression and a faint smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm sorry, Sheriff," she finally said as she pushed her chair back and got to her feet. "This situation requires a certain... finesse. I've seen how you work." Her lips quirked up in a surprisingly genuine show of amusement that made Emma want to punch her. "You are without a doubt very powerful and often quite competent at your work, but you're anything but delicate. We can handle this matter perfectly on our own."

Emma bristled at her words. "That _isn't_ your call to make!"

With another smile, Blue headed for the door. "Good day, Sheriff Swan."

As soon as Blue was out of earshot, Emma let out a string of curses that would have made Hook blanch. Every day, a new wall to run into and more people that wouldn't cooperate. Setback after setback after _yet another_ setback ad nauseam. It was wearing her out.

Standing up, she cracked her neck and stretched her limbs, needing to do something about the frustration that coursed through her mind and body. She needed something to do, some way to blow off steam. Before coming to Storybrooke, she would have used a punching bag or a shooting range, but after learning to use her magic, nothing else came close.

The table and the chairs were all poofed to a corner of the room with a practiced move of Emma's hand, giving her some more space. Another surge of magic and she had covered one of the walls with a large, shimmering (it still pissed Emma off that her magic was pink) barrier, making sure she wouldn't have to rebuild the house when she had gotten her frustration out of her system.

She started with Regina-style fireballs, throwing them at the barrier in rapid succession. They hit it with satisfying blasts, assuring Emma that her magic hadn't weakened during her lost month. She hit the barrier again and again with all kinds of offensive spells, stopping now and then to make sure the barrier wasn't getting too weak. After she shot a particularly strong shock wave against the barrier – causing the whole building to shiver – Emma couldn't hold back a grin. If anything, her magic seemed to have grown in strength.

It took half an hour or so, but eventually she felt like she had worked through most of her emotions; she didn't feel quite as much like she wanted to punch someone in the face anymore. Sure, she was pretty tired and sore and her palms burned a little from all the magic usage, but her mind was much clearer.

She left the room and sat down at her desk and began rifling through the papers there. With her mind focused and Henry staying at Regina's place for the night, working late at the station was not a problem. It was time to get some order and clarity in the library fire case.

 

* * *

 

_It was dark outside the car – a black void that was both endless and oppressively small and constrictive. Emma could barely make out the dimly lit road and glimpses of trees that flew past her. She also hadn't seen a road sign for miles but that didn't really matter. The only place of importance was behind her, getting farther away by the minute._

_Music was playing on the radio but she couldn't make out what. Sometimes it sounded like a single note and sometimes the radio host spoke. Hadn't she heard this one before, though?_

_Something was wrong. She wasn't sure what, but something felt... off. Henry was sleeping in the passenger seat but she couldn't see his face. He looked so young, too young. The car was cramped and she had to sit hunched over the steering wheel to fit yet the pedals seemed impossibly far down, making driving almost impossible. Her palms ached but she couldn't tear them from the steering wheel._

_Emma gasped and flinched in her seat as a large truck suddenly rolled past her in the opposite direction, disappearing as quickly and soundlessly as it had appeared. She clenched her hands around the steering wheel, her nails digging mercilessly into her palms. She_ needed _to get off the road._

_Pulling over by a roadside motel, she was finally able to let go of the steering wheel. The motel looked okay but she had been there before and everything was far too calm. Shouldn't there be more cars there, even at a night like this?_

_"Sheriff Swan." Regina walked next to her, her eyes dark and dead, looking past Emma. "You forgot the luggage."_

_Of course she had forgotten the luggage. It was still in the car, out there in the desolate parking lot where that thing that looked like Henry was still sleeping in the passenger seat. The thought of going back there made her want to throw up._

__Where is everyone, _she found herself wondering as the coldness came creeping under her clothes and into her skin. Where had Regina gone? Emma couldn't see her anywhere. Had she already found their room?_

_"Regina," she croaked but her voice cracked and she couldn't make herself heard over the silence. The receptionist at the counter didn't see her and didn't hear her so Emma stumbled away and fled, covering her ears to keep the silence out._

_She had to find Regina. Winding corridors and empty hallways passed by in a blur yet she wasn't getting anywhere. Her palms hurt and something wet and warm seemed to drip from them onto the floor. The thing that looked like Henry was just around the corner and_ she had to get away. _"Regina!" she called out again, her voice even weaker than before._

_Suddenly the corridors ended and Emma found herself in her car again, darkness everywhere she looked. It wanted in. It wanted to devour her. Emma had to drive away but there was nowhere to go and the car wouldn't start. Looking to the right, she saw the thing that looked like Henry in the passenger seat staring at her with empty eyes._

_"Hi, Ma," it screamed, a grotesque grimace on its face as it lunged towards her._

 

* * *

 

Emma awoke with a jerk, clawing at the table and screaming out in pain and terror. Her palms burned and her mind was filled with the warped images from her dream. The darkness clung to her memory, still looking as if it wanted to push in through the windows and envelop her. Only half-awake, she wasn't sure what had been real and what hadn't.

When her mind finally cleared – at least to an extent – she found herself with her phone in her hand, already dialing Regina. Blinking in confusion, she stared down at it. She must have called Regina on pure instinct, even in her somewhat delirious state. Before she could collect herself enough to cancel the call, the phone crackled to life.

_"What is it, Swan."_

Still panting from the dream, Emma swallowed and tried to come up with something to say. "I..."

_"Since you're calling me this late, I take it this has something to do with the library fire."_

Emma winced. "Actually, no."

_"Then why are you calling me?"_ Despite the obvious stiffness to her voice, Emma was a little surprised that Regina had answered at all.

"I, ah... I had a bad dream." She licked her lips and shook her head to herself. "More like one of the worst nightmares I've ever had. I must have called you while I was still only half awake."

There was a short pause. _"I see."_

Rubbing her forehead, Emma closed her eyes and sighed tiredly. "I honestly didn't mean to call you. I'm sorry." She wanted to say more but even she know that this wasn't the time nor the setting to do it.

_"Call Archie next time, Miss Swan."_ Regina ended the call without waiting for a response.

Emma put the phone away and buried her face in her palms. She hadn't lied when she said it had been one of the worst nightmares she had ever had. The remains of it still lingered in the back of her mind and played at the edges of her vision. It had felt so real, almost as real as her flashbacks. Maybe it had been some kind of reaction to her magical workout earlier, what with the pain in her palms and everything, or a flashback twisted and mangled by too warm clothes and an uncomfortable sleeping position?

Not like it mattered, though, since she couldn't tell what of it had been real anyway.

After a while, when her breathing had gone back to its usual rhythm and the pain in her palms had dissipated almost completely, she sat up and stretched her arms. With the nightmare fresh in her mind, sleeping didn't feel particularly inviting. Pushing the thoughts of it aside, she stared down at the papers in front of her. She did, however, still have plenty of work to do.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow it's been over a year since I updated this. I'm not sure how? Anywho, here's the much, much, _much_ delayed continuation. So sorry for having you guys wait so long, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

**8:19 AM**

Emma groaned and reached for her phone as it buzzed and beeped for the third time – or was it the fourth? – the next morning. Since she couldn't remember much of the night she figured she must have gotten at least a few hours of sleep, but it sure as hell didn't feel like it. Her body ached in strange places from the cell's uncomfortable bed and her eyes felt like they had been glued shut. On top of that, her palms still itched and memories from the nightmare lingered in her mind.

Rubbing her eyes a few times, she got to her feet and shuffled over to the large billboard on the station's wall where she had organized her investigation the night before. It didn't make as much sense as she had remembered, but it was a good start. Hopefully she would be able to make sense of some of the mysteries surrounding the arson with a fresh mind.

Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten much since yesterday's lunch. As much as she wanted to get to work right away, she knew working on an empty stomach wasn't going get her anywhere. Maybe a trip to Granny's would be worth it, despite the time loss.

She summoned her magic reluctantly, poofing into one of the alleys near the diner to avoid too many curious stares. Despite the prevalence of magic in town, it was always bound to draw attention, and her magic smoke's new and garish color certainly didn't help.

Ruby was standing at the counter inside the diner, lazily thumbing through something on her phone. Apparently it was a slow day. "Hey there, Em," she said, looking up as soon as Emma entered. "Breakfast or just coffee and a bear claw?"

"Breakfast, thanks," Emma replied. She sat down in one of the empty booths, only realizing how tired she still was when she felt the seat's soft padding against her back. She couldn't hold back a yawn, and her eyes felt heavier by the second. Maybe she could close her eyes for a short moment, just until Ruby came over with her breakfast? She wouldn't take a nap or anything; she wasn't _that_ tired. Just a minute or two of rest, nothing more...

 

* * *

 

_"Hey, haven't seen you here in a while," Ruby said when she noticed Emma by the counter. "Been busy?"_

_Emma forced a smile. "Yeah, a bit." She pretended to inspect the menu for a few seconds despite having known it by heard for years. "I'll have, uh, just a coffee."_

_"Okay." Ruby gave her an odd look. Of course_ she _would notice that something was off. "Take a seat, I'll be right over."_

_As she sat down in the booth, Emma tried to make sense of her thoughts as best she could. She had messed up, but she could fix it. After all, she had done worse things before and had gotten through them unscathed – mostly – right? She could make this right, she just had to stop running and talk to Regina._ Really _talk to her._

_"Here you go," Ruby said, placing a cup of coffee on the table in front of Emma._

_"Thanks." Emma wrapped her hands loosely around the cup. The warmth was surprisingly soothing._

_Ruby hesitated, lingering at the table. "Is everything okay?"_

_"Yeah, sure." Even Emma could hear how unconvincing that sounded. "It's... it's been a hectic couple of days. Stuff from my past has made a comeback, kind of." It was partly true, at least._

_Ruby's concerned expression instantly softened. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be nosy or anything."_

_"Don't worry about it," Emma replied, trying to muster as genuine a smile as she could. At any other time she would probably love to ask Ruby for advice, but everything was still so jumbled, so new when it came to Regina. "I just need a few day to sort things through. I'll be alright."_

 

* * *

 

"Emma?"

Someone was shaking her shoulder, Emma dazedly noted.

"Emma, what's going on?"

Emma blinked, trying to regain her bearings. Ruby was hovering over her, looking even more concerned than she had looked in Emma's flashback.

"I'm fine," Emma assured her. "How long was I out?"

"Several minutes, at least. You looked like you were in some kind of trance or something." Ruby crossed her arms, fixing Emma with stare. "Seriously, what's going on?"

"It's, ah, a long story."

"I've got time." Ruby sat down opposite her. "I know it's not really my business, but first you and Regina get weird, then someone set the library on fire and you have me check for magic, and now this–" she gestured towards Emma– "and I've seen your magic's new pink smoke, too. Things are usually connected in Storybrooke and I'd like to know if one of my best friends is in trouble."

The hurt look that Ruby didn't quite manage to hide stung more than Emma had expected. "You're right. I meant to tell you." Ruby was such an steady presence in Storybrooke that it was easy to take her for granted, even though – or maybe because –she was one of Emma's closest friends. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Ruby said, though it didn't sound convincing. "I'm sure you had plenty of other things on your mind."

Seconds rolled by, the air thick and uncomfortable. Emma wasn't sure what to say, and Ruby seemed lost in troubled thoughts.

"I really didn't mean to shut you out like that," Emma said after a while. "It's just, things have been... weird."

Ruby gave her a pointed look. "This is Storybrooke, Emma. I change into a wolf ever month and you can teleport. Everything is weird."

"Okay, so maybe weird wasn't the best word," Emma winced. "But things have been stranger than usual, at least to me." She lowered her voice and added, "This stays between the two of us, okay? I haven't even told my parents about this."

"Of course. I won't tell anyone."

Glancing around the diner, Emma made sure no one seemed too interested in the two of them. "Last time I was here, with Regina and my parents, I got hit by some kind of memory spell. It made me forget the whole previous month."

Ruby's brows rose in surprise. "What– how? Who did it? Why?"

"That's what I've been trying to find out. Hasn't gone too well so far, though."

"And you and Regina–"

"Is because of something I did – I think – during that month," Emma filled in. "Same with the smoke."

She went on to tell Ruby about the mysterious ring she had shown Granny, how her heart was glowing purple, the recurring flashbacks, what Belle and Nova had told her about the memory spell, and what little she had learned from Regina. She didn't leave anything out (barring some of the more intimate details from her flashbacks) not wanting to keep Ruby in the dark any longer. It was good to share it too, to get a second opinion of sorts.

"Damn, Em," Ruby muttered when Emma had finished. "That's a hell of a mystery."

"I know. And on top of that, I've got the arson."

"Do you want me to ask if Tink knows anything about what happened that month?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Emma said slowly. "Last time I saw her she was almost as pissed as Regina, and I don't want to mess things up between you two."

"Oh. Right." A few people entered the diner, starting a loose queue in front of the counter. Ruby waved a quick hello to them and then turned back to Emma. "I've got to get back to work, but let me know if there's anything I can do to help, alright?"

"Count on it." Emma smiled, glad that she hadn't messed things up completely with her friend.

 

* * *

 

**9:35 AM**

"...no. I'm sorry, Ma'am, I don't think a centaur had any part in the library fire." Emma pinched the bridge of her nose as the lady on the phone rambled on about her wild theories regarding the arson. "Well, I'll be sure to look into it," Emma cut in, trying her best to sound sincere. "Thank you." With a heavy sigh, she dropped the receiver back in its place, ending the call.

After living in Storybrooke for a few years, Emma had come to realize something. The problem with a magical town whose inhabitants were fairy tales characters wasn't the magical creatures, at least not on most days. No, the real trouble was how it was virtually impossible to distinguish legitimate emergency calls from prank calls and calls from people with a none too firm grip on reality. Giants? They were real. Wookies? Not real. Unicorns? Real as well. Centaurs? _Probably_ fictional.

She was just about to dive back into her work with the arson case when the door opened and David stepped inside the sheriff's station.

"Hey," Emma said, a light frown knitting her brows together. He wasn't supposed to work today. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to see how you were doing. I would have helped you out yesterday," David said, looking a little embarrassed, "but Snow and I were in a council meeting when we got the news, and then the Town Hall got swamped with calls. I sent you a text. Or, well, a couple of texts."

Emma winced. "Must have missed them. It was a long day."

David pulled out a chair and sat down. "That's an understatement. I'm just glad no one got hurt." He looked out over the heap of papers and notes sprawled over Emma's desk. "So, where are we on this?"

"About where we started," Emma muttered. "Someone tried to burn down the library. Someone that looked like Regina and could conjure a fireball or something like it."

"So someone with access to magic?"

"I had Ruby check the crime scene yesterday and she could tell someone had used fairy dust there, and Blue told me the fairies lost a bunch of fairy dust a while back. My best bet is whoever did this used it to frame Regina."

David's expression darkened. "Blue never told me or Snow about that. I'll have to talk to them about it."

"Yeah, well, the result is that basically everyone in Storybrooke is a potential suspect. I'm doing my best, but I'm running out of leads."

"What about the library? Why target that place in particular?"

Emma hesitated for a moment, still not willing to bring up her memory loss. "Belle said some of the books might have been stolen," she said carefully, "so maybe someone was after the magical knowledge. Regina might simply have been a convenient scapegoat. Or maybe they just wanted to get rid of as much magic stuff as possible and the magic books was an easy target. Or they wanted to go after Belle and Gold."

"That's a lot of suspects." David checked his phone and then continued, "I've still got an hour before I have to be at the town hall, so let's try to rule out as many names as possible until then, okay?"

With help, if only for an hour, the task looked just a little less impossible. "Alright."

 

* * *

 

**11:01 AM**

"Sheriff Swan?"

Emma looked up from her desk, so engrossed in her work that she hadn't noticed the man standing in the doorway, a notebook in his hand. She vaguely recognized him from around town, but she hadn't spoken with him yet. Seeing how most times she talked to new townspeople she didn't know was because of a crime or someone calling the police, she supposed it might be a good thing.

"That's me. Can I help you?"

"Gabe Schreier, reporter from the Storybrooke Daily Mirror." He pulled out a pen and opened his notebook. "Can I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure. Is this about the library fire?"

Gabe nodded. "Do you have any suspects yet?"

"Not exactly. Nothing solid so far."

He jotted down a few notes. "There are a lot of rumors that the former mayor was involved in the fire, any comments on that?"

"That's all they are. Rumors."

"We've spoken to several people who saw her at the crime scene. Shouldn't you arrest her until she's been cleared?"

"What?" Emma gave him an incredulous look. "No, that's not how it works. Rumors and circumstantial evidence isn't enough to lock someone up."

"So you _do_ confirm that there is evidence linking Regina Mills to the library fire," Gabe said. "Don't you think your relationship with her might make you biased in this case?"

"No, I don't," Emma said sharply. "My relationship with her has nothing to do with this."

"The public might not see it like that."

"Well, then the _public_ can–" She shut her jaws with a click, swallowing the words. Giving the paper even more shit to hold against her was the last thing she needed. "The public elected me. If they're not happy with what I do, they can elect a new sheriff."

Gabe scoffed. "Nothing gets done in the city council, Sheriff. Your parents haven't even announced when the next elections are going to be held."

"Fine, yeah, okay." Emma huffed and got to her feet. "The council has got some problems, but there's nothing I can do about that. I'm just trying to do my job–" she held up a hand as Gabe tried to get a word in, "–and if you think I would let _anyone_ get away with arson if I had solid evidence against them, you're wrong." Walking Gabe back to the door, she didn't respond to any of his increasingly inflammatory questions.

"People are going to want answers!" Gabe exclaimed when he was finally shoved outside, waving his pen at Emma.

"You and me both, buddy." Emma closed the door firmly and walked back to her desk.

 

* * *

 

**3:22 PM**

The station's door flew open without any warning, followed by Henry storming in. "Ma!"

Emma looked up, taking in his disheveled appearance and his determined expression with mild surprise. He definitely got his flair for the dramatic from Regina. "Hey, kiddo."

"Is it true? Do you think Mom burned down the library?" he blurted out.

"What? No, of course not."

"But Mom said–"

"Look, Henry, your mother and I aren't really in a good place right now, okay? I pressed her for information in case she knew who set the fire." She rubbed her neck, remembering less than fondly how the conversation had gone down. "And maybe I wasn't the most tactful, but I told her I didn't think she was involved and that's still what I think."

"Oh, okay." He relaxed, the tension leaving his body in an instant. Then he turned his attention to Emma's desk. "So who are the suspects?" he asked in an all too casual way.

Emma got up from her chair and ushered Henry to the door, doing her best to look authoritative. "Sorry, kiddo, but that's police business. I'm not getting you involved in this."

"But _Ma_ , I can help!"

"Henry," she said, gently taking him by the shoulders. "I'm after someone who has magic and is capable of arson. If they try to come after me because of the investigation, I don't want you in the line of fire." Seeing that all too familiar defiant glint in his eyes, she pulled the ultimate trump card. "If you don't like my decision, you could ask Regina."

They both knew what Regina would say.

"Fine," Henry muttered dejectedly.

"Don't worry, I'll clear her name," Emma assured him with a smile, pulling him in for a quick hug before shooing him out of the station. For once, she felt like a proper responsible parent.

 

* * *

 

**5:29 PM**

When Gold finally showed up at the sheriff's station, Emma could almost feeling the air shift around her, even though he took the door instead of poofing in.

"Sheriff Swan."

"Gold." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm pretty sure you're not here just to exchange pleasantries."

His mouth curled up into a faint smile. "And you would be right. As a... concerned citizen, I would like to know how you're doing with the investigation of the library fire."

"It's progressing." _For the moment_ , she thought.

"I do hope so. Are there any suspects yet?"

"No." Especially none she would share with the public.

Gold folded his hands neatly around the end of his cane, resting it on the ground in front of him. "I'm sure you know as well as I do that this town is quite fond of taking justice into its own hands. If the investigation drags on for too long without result, some people might get... restless."

"As long as I'm sheriff in this town, I'll be the one upholding the law. Anyone tries to play vigilante, they'll get arrested." Emma crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "That includes you."

Gold's smile grew colder. "We'll see about that."

"Let's hope we won't," Emma shot back, refusing to be intimidated. "Look, I know you want the perpetrator caught. So do I. And the thing is, you need me. If you had any leads of your own, you'd have gone after them yourself by now, but since you're here, you obviously think I've got better odds of finding who did it."

" _Don't_ mistake convenience for need, dearie," Gold snapped. "You're by no means my only option. I will find whoever did this, and they will pay." 

"If you want to them found, I suggest you stop wasting my time and let me get back to work," Emma said flatly.

"Work quickly." And with that, Mr. Gold left the station as abruptly as he had entered it.

Emma shook her head and turned her attention back to her work, trying to remember where she had left off. Sometimes she missed her days as a bounty hunter; at least back then she didn't get as many interruptions.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter that has been brewing for way too long, but with this one I'm finally getting past that particular backlog!
> 
> Thanks for all the comments, they really make my day! I've always been kind of undecided when it comes to the pacing and general outline of this particular fic (seeing how I originally meant for this to only be a few chapters long) so it's always good to see that you're enjoying it. Don't worry though, I do plan to wrap up all the various unexplained things in the fic eventually.
> 
> On that note, I'd like to just give a friendly reminder that since I'm only writing in Emma's POV, you're only getting one viewpoint which means the whole fic is by definition biased, especially since she doesn't even have an intact memory as it is. Just a little something to keep in mind.
> 
> Thanks again for sticking with me and I hope you'll enjoy this new chapter :)
> 
> (Also, if you want to yell at me on tumblr for never giving Emma a break, you can find me at [nyczsq.tumblr.com](http://nyczsq.tumblr.com))

Emma plopped down in her usual seat at Granny's with a heavy grunt. A few days had passed and still no new leads had reared their heads in the arson case. All the clues she had were either too vague or seemed to point towards Regina and it wasn't getting Emma anywhere, but she kept at it anyway and it was only Ruby's repeated and insistent texts telling her to take a break that had gotten her out of the station at all.

A few minutes after she had sat down, Ruby came over with two plates, placing them on the table before sitting down opposite Emma.

"You actually showed up," Ruby noted with an appreciative nod. "And you didn't melt in the sun either. Cool."

Emma rolled her eyes, popping a fry into her mouth. "Yeah, well, you were pretty insistent that I shouldn't have my lunch at the station again. Not like we're getting anywhere on the case anyway."

"Nothing at all?" 

"Nope. What little we've got still points to Regina. Whoever did this really covered their tracks."

They ate in relative silence, both of them too hungry to keep up a conversation.

"By the way," Ruby said after a while, "Hook has been lurking around outside the diner looking for you these last couple of days."

Emma groaned. "Really? That guy can't take a hint."

"Yup. I figured he wanted to try to catch you when you were here since you're avoiding him otherwise. I had to run him off eventually, though. Granny thought he was scaring away the customers."

"Good riddance," Emma muttered, stuffing a handful of fries into her mouth.

A loud commotion from the bar suddenly pierced the diner's relative silence. Leroy had pushed away from his stool hard enough to topple it, making it hit the ground with a clatter. Another man – Wilfred, one of the regulars in the diner– was just getting out of his booth. Both men glared daggers at each other.

"What did you just say?" Leroy said, a clear threat in his voice. 

"I said Snow White is a brat who got lucky," Wilfred shot back. "At least Regina knew how to run a town."

"Have you lived under a rock or what? Without Snow we'd all be dead." He stepped up to Wilfred and jabbed a finger onto his chest. "You better remember that if you're going to live in Storybrooke, brother."

Wilfred chuckled coldly and swatted Leroy's hand away. "And you better remember that there are other people in town besides Snow and her fan club, _friend_. We're not going to sit around forever while your little princess and her family takes over the town and runs it into the ground. Now get out of my face."

"She's a fucking _queen_!" Leroy roared and aimed a punch at Wilfred's face.

As soon as his fist hit, Emma and Ruby were already out of their chairs and rushing over to break up the fight. Dodging punches and kicks as best she could, Emma pulled Leroy away while Ruby took care of Wilfred.

"Do I really need to remind everyone what I've said about fighting in the diner?" Granny barked, slamming her crossbow down on the counter in front of her.

"Whatever," Leroy grunted, shaking off Emma's grip and shuffling off towards the far end of the diner. "I have better things to do. You guys take care of that asshole."

"You heard Granny. No fighting," Ruby repeated, keeping Wilfred's wrists in an unyielding grip until he grudgingly nodded.

Muttering curses under his breath and cradling his chin, Wilfred stumbled to the door and out onto the street, glaring at Ruby and Emma over his shoulder.

With the diner finally back to some semblance of normalcy, Ruby and Emma went back to their table and sat down to finish their lunch.

"What the hell was that about?" Emma asked, taking another fry.

Ruby gave her an odd look. "Don't you read the paper?"

"Not really. I haven't had the best experience with this town's journalists."

"Well, you should read today's paper." Ruby got out of her chair, returning a moment later with a newspaper. "You barely even have to read the article itself – the heading says it all, really."

**NEPOTISM RAMPANT IN STORYBROOKE**

**City officials plan to reinstate the monarchy**

The string of curses Emma muttered would have made her parents blanch.

"It gets worse," Ruby helpfully pointed out.

" _Worse_ than a coup?"

"It says the council plans reinstate Regina as mayor and to replace the police force with royal guards from the Enchanted Forest."

"What the fuck." The more Emma read, the further her mood dropped. "What the _fuck_. I can't believe they would do this."

"It doesn't have to be true, though," Ruby halfheartedly tried. "It could just be a rumor."

Emma made a noncommittal noise. While she was convinced that her parents only wanted the best for Storybrooke, they could be a little out of touch at times. "Let's hope so." Recalling her meeting with the journalist a few days before, she scoffed. "And here I thought people accusing me of giving Regina preferential treatment was the worst that could happen."

"Yeah, that didn't help either. But this is on a whole new level."

Feeling a growing headache from reading all the sensationalized accusations, Emma put the newspaper down. "Do people really believe all this, though? I mean, Snow and David wouldn't just overthrow the government."

"They did it plenty of times before the curse, you know. King George, Regina..." She trailed off. "But this instability in town isn't anything new, not really. There have been plenty of anger towards the council for a long time now, it just hasn't been dragged out into the open until now. People don't forget their old lives that easily." 

Emma put down the newspaper, frowning deeply. "I need to fix this."

"Emma, come on. Some people here hold grudges that are literally older than you."

"And I'm the only one even remotely elected, curse or no curse. I need to try."

Ruby gave her a wry smile. "I guess working against impossible odds runs in the family."

"Speaking of which, I really need to talk to my parents before things get even worse." Emma got up from her seat. "Sorry the lunch turned out like this, Rubes."

"It's fine," Ruby said, waving it away. "Just promise we'll do it again soon."

"Definitely." With that, she left the diner in a cloud of frustratingly pink smoke.

 

* * *

 

Emma found Snow in one of the Town Hall's offices behind a pile of paperwork. She looked up when Emma entered, a smile lighting up her face.

"Emma, what's up?"

"I'd like to know how much of what's in today's paper is true," Emma stated bluntly.

"Oh, well, you know. It's a newspaper, they're writing to sell." Snow let out a short laugh, a bit too shrill to be believable. "We're not going to suddenly make Storybrooke a monarchy or anything."

"No?"

Snow looked a little hurt. "Of course not. We're not in the Enchanted Forest anymore."

"And what about using royal guards as a police officers?" When Snow hesitated for a moment, Emma groaned. "You can't be serious."

"You've said you needed more officers," Snow argued.

"Officers, not _guards_. And especially not large parts of some group from the Enchanted Forest. There's enough tension between old factions in town as it is."

Seeing Snow's wounded look, Emma sighed. She didn't want to start a fight with her mother, but Snow could be a little blind to how the rest of the town saw things, and with the growing unrest Emma simply couldn't afford to be gentle.

"Look, what I need is a bigger budget. Then I'll be able to hire some new deputies the town trusts and this will settle down."

Snow shook her head, giving Emma a bleak smile. "I'm not sure it'll be that easy. Some people here have very long held grudges."

"I know, Ruby said the same thing." Emma sat down in the visitor's chair in front of Snow's desk. "But that's even more reason for me to try. We won't get anywhere if the town thinks were all a bunch of corrupt, power hungry monarchs."

"I hope you're right."

Emma regarded Snow, noticing just how tired she looked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." After a pause and a long look from Emma, she continued, "The phone has been ringing nonstop the last few days. We've had to schedule an extra council meeting tomorrow just to address this." She sighed. "It's been a long day."

"Sorry to add onto it," Emma mumbled.

"No, it's fine, you're right," Snow hurried to assure her. "I'll make sure we'll vote on a budget at the meeting."

"Thanks." She hesitated, knowing she would have to bring up one other thing, something she'd much rather avoid. "Can you tell David to get over to the station when you see him?"

"Of course. Why? Are you getting somewhere on the case?"

Emma winced. "Not really. Actually, I'll have to ask him to quit the police force."

"What? But you need more officers–"

"I do, and he's been a great deputy, but with the articles and people shouting nepotism all over the place it looks pretty bad with him there. Besides, he's got Neal and the work at the council to do too."

Snow didn't look happy about it, but she didn't object further. "Fine, I'll tell him."

"Thanks."

 

* * *

 

David joined Emma in the sheriff's station about an hour later.

"Hey, Emma."

"Hey." Emma pushed away from her desk and got to her feet, shoving her hands awkwardly into her back pockets. "So... I'm guessing Snow sent you?"

"Yeah." He chuckled, looking around the station with fondness mixed with a little sadness. "I'm going to miss this place."

The load on Emma's shoulders grew a little lighter; at least she wouldn't have to break the news to him. "I'm sorry. You know why I had to do this, right?"

"I know. We royalty don't have the best reputation right now."

"No, we don't." She shifted her weight from leg to leg, unsure of what to say. "I'm sure you'll have lots of things to do in the council, though. And with Neal."

David smiled, a gestured that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Just find some good deputies that can pick up the extra work without me around. Snow will read us both the riot act if you collapse from stress." He sighed, then pulled out a cardboard box he had been holding under his arm, and held it out for Emma to take. "Help me clean out my desk? I'm not leaving without my 'police force's greatest dad' mug."

Emma chuckled lightly as the awkwardness between them dissipated a bit. "Alright."

 

* * *

 

Despite the short notice, the Town Hall was filled to the brim when the council meeting started the next day. Regina, however, was not present, one of the few glaring omissions. Ever since Snow and the rest of the council had taken over the administration of the town, Regina had mostly isolated herself, staying away from public matters like this. Emma couldn't really blame her, seeing how she herself stood in the back of the room, not wanting to draw too much attention. She was mostly here to observe, anyway.

There hadn't been any violent incidents – yet – but there was clear tension in the air and neither the townspeople nor the council looked particularly pleased to be there.

Snow, her expression strained, stepped up to the podium. "Thank you all for coming," she began when the noise in the room had lessened to a low murmur. "As most of you know, there has been some rumors going around town after a few articles in the paper these last few days. I'm sure you have a lot of questions and concerns, so this meeting will be a Q&A session where we in the city council will do our best to answer any questions you have."

The murmur rose again for a moment before someone in the audience stood and asked, "Are you going to reinstate the monarchy?"

"Oh, god no," Snow replied, holding up her hands and shaking her head for emphasis. "Storybrooke isn't the Enchanted Forest, and we've got democracy here. That's not going to change."

"Then why haven't we had any elections yet?"

"Well-"

"And how come you're on the council in the first place?" someone else said. "No one's elected you!"

The arguing voices of the townspeople in the room quickly grew into a crescendo, loud enough to drown out any response Snow might have. Emma sighed, feeling a headache slowly building. As much as she wanted to go up on the stage and take some pressure off Snow, she knew it would only make things worse. She wasn't just the sheriff here, she was Snow's daughter, and the last they needed now was the family in power teaming up against the rest of the town, no matter how baseless the accusations were. At least Snow – while not as skilled as Regina – was used to being in public office by now.

Despite Snow's calls for silence, it took several minutes for the people to calm down.

"We're going to have an election soon," Snow assured the audience when she could be heard again, "but it takes time to organize it. You have to be patient."

"Everything takes time for you," someone in the back yelled. "At least Mayor Mills fixed the potholes."

An elderly woman in one of the front rows stood, wringing her hands. "Is it true that you're going to make her queen again?"

"No one is becoming a queen." Snow paused and shot a glance at the rest of the council. "We have talked about appointing a… temporary mayor to help organize the election faster, but we haven't decided on anything yet."

The volume grew in intensity again at that. "You're going to put Regina back in power? After everything she's done?"

Albert Spencer, who hadn't spoken since the start of the meeting, stood and called for silence. "This is how it starts! First they fill the sheriff's office with loyal guards, then they reinstate The Evil Queen as ruler, and then we can all kiss this supposed 'democracy' goodbye!"

"That's not going to happen," Emma said sharply. Determined to nip this particular rumor in the bud, Emma continued, "The council has no say in who works in the sheriff's office. Anyone I hire will be hired because of their merits, not who they were back in the old world."

"Really now," Albert scoffed. "And what about your father? What merits did he have?"

"David has left the police force, and as soon as the council passes a budget I'll be able to hire new deputies. People who'll do a good job, regardless of background."

"Like a budget will ever be passed by this council," someone muttered, barely audible over the chatter.

As the discussion grew heated yet again, Emma tuned it out. Luckily for her, the crowd's focus was back on Snow and the council. In lack of anything better to do, she looked out over the crowd. Granny was there, and so was Tink and Dr. Whale. Belle and Gold were off at the side, though neither looked particularly enthusiastic. None of the Merry Men were present, nor many of the fairies besides Nova and Blue, the latter who was sitting with the rest of the council. Ruby wasn't present either; Emma guessed she was busy in the diner.

It was when the conversation began to gravitate back to Regina and the possibility of making her the mayor, that Emma started to pay attention again. The crowd seemed to be fairly clearly divided, with one part still resenting Regina and another that just wanted the town's administration to work properly again, no matter who was in charge.

"It's still Regina we're talking about," Leroy said. " _The Evil Queen_. The only reason things worked when she was in charge was because of the curse."

Emma was about to argue – knowing full well all the paperwork Regina had taken care of even after she had been supposedly ousted from her office following the first curse – but found herself interrupted before she even had time to start.

"That's not true."

All eyes turned towards the Blue Fairy, the room near silent. "Most people probably know that Regina and I don't see eye to eye in most matters, but even I can admit that she knows how to run the town efficiently," Blue said. "And I do think having her as acting mayor would make the elections a lot smoother."

"And anyone can run for mayor, of course," Snow hurried to add.

The discussion continued, but with Blue's support Regina's side slowly gained a majority. Emma only wondered if anyone had bothered to ask Regina herself. She hadn't seemed too interested in getting her old job back up until now, after all.

 

* * *

 

It was another hour and a half before the meeting finally drew to a close. Even though emotions still ran high, it felt like everyone had had a chance to voice their grievances and this without any pitchfork-wielding mobs. In the last few minutes of the meeting, the council had even managed to fast-track a budget without objection, including the much needed money for the sheriff's department. The budget itself was only a stop-gap measure, designed to deal with the most pressing issues, but it was a good first step and a way for the council to show that they did listen.

Having said a quick goodbye to her parents, Emma followed the rest of the audience out of the town hall. She was just about to head for her car when someone shouted her name.

"Emma!" Mulan was exiting the Town Hall as well and hurried towards Emma with determined steps. She looked oddly out of place, wearing modern clothes and no sword on her hip. Emma hadn't seen her much since she had come over to Storybrooke during the last curse, so her memory of Mulan was still that of a warrior in armor. Only in Storybrooke would a person _not_ looking like someone doing medieval cosplay be cause for surprise. 

"Hey, Mulan. Were you at the meeting too?"

"I was." She hesitated, her hand moving as if about to grasp her sword before she caught herself, crossing her arms instead. "You said you'd be hiring new police officers. I was wondering if… how I can apply."

Blindsided by the request, it took a second for Emma to gather her thoughts. "Well, uh, I think you just did. Applied, I mean." Emma chuckled. "I don't have any strict procedures or anything to follow, and I haven't hired any new deputies in a while so I'm kind of winging it as it is. Besides, this is Storybrooke, so things aren't really by the book anyway."

"I've noticed," Mulan muttered.

Emma thought it over for a moment. This might just end up being the shorted job interview in history. "Look, I do need some new deputies, and from what I remember when we fought Cora and Hook, you can handle yourself in a fight if that should be necessary. The rest of the requirements are a little more... tricky, but I think you just might fit." She started walking to the police cruiser, motioning Mulan to follow. "Come on, we'll talk about it at the station."


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still getting used to Mulan, so it might take me a little while to try to figure out how I want to write her. Hopefully I've gotten a decent handle on her already though.

Despite never having gotten a set of modern fake memories like most of Storybrooke, Mulan had settled into her new job with remarkable ease. Sure, she still shot the computers skeptical glances now and again, and Emma had seen Mulan's sword on her hip more than once, but overall things were coming along smoothly.

"How can you drink this." Mulan winced as the put down her cup of coffee on the desk.

"Acquired taste." Truth be told, Emma found the coffee they made at the station probably about as disgusting as Mulan did, but by now she was so used to horrible coffee at work that anything else just wouldn't feel right.

"I'll have to remember to buy a pot of proper coffee the next time I pass by the diner." Mulan glared at the cup. "This tastes like dirt."

"Hey, it gets the job done, right?"

Which, incidentally, was more than they did. By now, Emma had gone through all the leads they had multiple times, both alone, with David, and now with Mulan, and yet nothing new had surfaced. As it looked now, the only way they would get anywhere would be if the arsonist set fire to another building.

Emma stretched her arms up and groaned, her body stiff and tired from all the sitting. Maybe she could go through the list of suspects again, one by one, to see if she had missed anything. A shaky alibi, a hidden motive, anything.

Her phone buzzed, interrupting her thoughts.

"Hey, Rubes. What's up?"

" _Hey, Em, I got this weird note just now._ "

Emma barely refrained from thumping her head against the table. If that was Hook doing some shit again, heads would roll – one head in particular. "A note?"

" _Yeah. I didn't see who left it – it must have been during the lunch rush – but it looks pretty legit._ "

"Legit? About what?"

" _It says: 'Tell the sheriff I've got information about the fire and that I need protection. I'll contact you again in a few days. Keep this quiet or I'll be in even greater danger.'_ "

All other thoughts were swept aside as Emma jotted down the message on a piece of paper, instantly focused. "And you have no idea who gave you this?"

" _Whoever it was picked the most hectic day of the week. It could have been anyone. The text is written really weirdly too, as if they were trying to hide their handwriting._ "

"Alright. This is still hell of a lot more than we've got this far." Emma's mind raced, working through possibility after possibility. "I wonder who's spooked them this much, though. No one was killed in the library fire, after all."

" _Your guess is as good as mine. Half the town could probably scare anyone shitless. Want me to come over with the note?_ "

"No, I'll pick it up the next time I come by."

Emma had Ruby repeat the message, making sure she had gotten everything down properly, and then ended the call.

"You found something?" Mulan asked.

"Might just be a prank, but I think it's our first real lead. Someone left a note at Granny's, saying they knew something about the library fire and that they were in danger. They wouldn't say anything else except to keep it to ourselves and that they'd contact us again in a couple of days."

"It'll be difficult to keep them safe if we don't know who or what is after them," Mulan warned.

"Yeah." Emma stared at the words she had written down, feeling increasingly uncomfortable as she read and reread them. Whoever had written this had felt it necessary to hide everything about themself, even their handwriting. Sure, there was plenty of animosity going around in town, but people didn't usually have to fear for their lives.

_I need protection._

From whom?

 

* * *

 

Emma was still deep in thoughts about the note and the prospective informant when the station's phone rang. 

"Sheriff Swan." It couldn't be the informant calling already, could it?

" _Hello, my name is Leila Watts. I'm living in the western parts of town, near the woods. I don't know if this might be relevant, but I think one of my neighbors might be missing._ "

Emma pulled up her notebook and a pen. "When was the last time you saw your neighbor? Do you know the name of them?" Silly question, she realized as soon as she had said it. Everyone knew everyone in this town.

" _Bethany Vickers. I haven't seen her for weeks now. Maybe even months. She's not all that sociable, really._ "

"Okay. We'll be sure to look into it, ma'am."

" _There's one more thing, too. I can't say for sure, but I think she might have magic._ "

That caught Emma's attention. Someone with magic going missing somewhere around the time of the library fire? The circumstances were definitely suspicious. "Go on."

" _Well, I've heard she was a witch of some kind – not necessarily an evil one – in the old world, and there was this weird smell coming from her house one time when I came over to invite her to a barbecue a few months back. A friend of mine swore he saw colored smoke coming out of her chimney once, too._ "

Normally Emma would probably have ignored something as vague as this, but this wasn't normal times. The fact that the caller sounded worried about rather than scared of her neighbor also boded well. She checked the time; it was still early enough in the day to go investigate. "Alright, I'll look into it as soon as possible. Are you at home this afternoon?"

" _Yes, I won't be going anywhere for the rest of the day._ "

"Great. Depending on what we find, we might need a statement from you later on."

" _I'd be happy to help. Oh, and please let me know what's happened to her, will you? I don't know her well, but she's been as good a neighbor as any and I just might be the closest thing to a friend that she has._ "

"Of course."

Emma noted both women's addresses, thanked Leila for her help, and ended the call. She checked the time again. Depending on what happened, she might have to work a little late – maybe she should tell Henry to stay with Regina tonight – but there was no way she would be twiddling her thumbs all evening with this right around the corner.

"Hey, Mulan?" Emma called out as she got to her feet. "Pack your things, we're going on a field trip!"

 

* * *

 

Bethany Vickers' house was as unremarkable as any other house in Storybrooke. Small and quaint, the only thing remotely interesting was the slightly unkempt garden and the mailbox that hadn't been emptied in a while.

"So, how do we do this?" Mulan asked, her voice low and her hand on the sword that was fastened on her hip.

"You really think bringing that is a good idea?" Emma nodded towards the sword.

Mulan frowned. "I can't handle a gun nearly as well as I can handle a sword. I'll be fine. Any attackers will lose their arm before they have time to fire a shot."

Emma stared back.

"I'm joking." She paused a beat, just enough time for Emma to collect herself. "I've watched several seasons of Law and Order, though. I'm sure that'll help."

"You're hilarious," Emma muttered, but she couldn't hold back an amused smile. Mulan was good company to have. "We try the polite way first. If no one answers, we get inside and check the place out. Stay safe and don't turn to violence unless absolutely necessary, alright?"

Mulan nodded, all business. "Got it."

They opened the fence gate and walked up to knock on the front door.

"Bethany Vickers? This is Sheriff Swan. I'm here to make sure everything's alright with you," Emma said, loudly enough that she hoped anyone inside would here. When she didn't get any reply, she knocked a few more times. "Miss Vickers?"

"Do you smell that?" Mulan mumbled, sniffing in the air.

Emma breathed in deeply through her nose, then winced. Even thought the smell was faint, it was still nauseating. "That's not good." She pulled her gun out of her holster and carefully tried the door handle. It was locked. "Quick and dirty way or slow and careful? Oh, never mind, I forgot my lock picks at the station. I'm sure Marco can fix this later anyway," she added under her breath.

Taking a step back, Emma carefully readied her magic. One time she had overdone it and the whole damn door had been torn off its hinges and lodged itself in the opposite wall. This called for a little more finesse.

She let her magic burst out of her hand in a small, concentrated blast, hitting the door near handle. The door flew open with a bang, sending splinters and sparks in all directions.

"You okay?" Emma hissed as she waved away the worst of the dust from the air in front of her.

Mulan coughed a few times, but nodded. "I'm fine. Let's go."

Apart from the remains of the broken door, the house seemed to be about as unremarkable inside as it had looked outside. Emma headed up the stairs to the second floor, finding nothing but empty rooms, barely even decorated. Some of them looked as if they hadn't been used for years. Emma felt a twinge of sympathy for Bethany; Storybrooke couldn't have been a good place for her.

The bedroom was the only room with any hints of life. The bed wasn't made and there were a few clothes tossed over the back of a chair, but not much more than that. Nothing personal, nothing private. An old newspaper lay on the bedside table, yellow from age and wrinkled from use. It was from days before the sheriff's election, back when the original curse was still intact, and it was open and folded to show a long article about Regina that Bethany obviously had read many times. What she had found so interesting with it remained a mystery.

There was nothing else of interest in the bedroom, so Emma left and headed back to the stairs. No body, no magic supplies, not even some kind of potion vial; the upper floor had been completely empty. She hoped Mulan had had better luck.

"I found something! In the kitchen!"

Emma hurried down the stairs and to the kitchen, all the while the smell got stronger and stronger, soon almost overwhelming. Covering her nose with a napkin helped, but only so much. Even Mulan looked a little paler than usual, her expression grim.

"She's been dead for a while. I didn't go any closer. Didn't want to disturb the scene." Mulan stepped aside to let Emma in.

"So you do have watched Law and Order, huh," Emma muttered, carefully taking a few steps into the kitchen to get a better look.

It was obvious that the person lying on the kitchen floor had been dead for days, probably weeks. The body was lying face down – thankfully, Emma thought – but the decomposing skin on the hands and ankles was evidence enough.

"Fuck." She felt moments away from vomiting. "Let's get some air."

They left for the front door, breathing deeply as soon as they were outside.

"Alright," Emma said when the worst of her nausea had disappeared. "We have to get back in there and document the crime scene, and then get Dr. Whale over here to deal with the body. Probably should do a second sweep of the rest of the house too, to make sure we didn't miss anything."

Mulan did not look particularly excited at the prospect.

 

* * *

 

Dr. Whale arrived soon after getting the call.

"Yep, she's dead alright," he declared, crouched over the body. "I'm guessing a couple of weeks. Good thing the house was as closed as it was or there would be maggots all over the place."

Emma really didn't need that image in her mind. At least the smell was better now, with some of the noxious gases leaking out through the front door. "Can you get any more specific? Cause of death? Anything"

Whale tilted the body's head up just a little to get a better look, scrunching up his nose in disgust at the sight. "This reminds me why I stopped trying to resurrect people. Anyway, I'll know more when I get back to the hospital but if you want my opinion right now, she might just have collapsed of old age. Heart failure, lung failure, brain tumors, you name it." He nodded towards one of the cupboards that was filled to the brim with bottles of liquor of varying kind and varying emptiness. "She's like an infomercial about the dangers of an unhealthy lifestyle. She even died with a cigarette in her hand."

Emma hummed, nodding absentmindedly. He definitely had a point. She looked around the kitchen again, trying to see if she had missed anything. Nothing looked particularly out of place, no sign of a struggle or anyone trying to cover their tracks. No potions, no strange vials, nothing magical-looking either. She went over to the fridge and opened it, making sure not to breathe in. (Mulan had done that earlier and she was still looking rather pale.) A few moldy vegetables, a couple of innocuous old jars, an open carton of milk. She closed it again, lingering with her hand on the door handle for a moment, lost in thoughts. Everything pointed to a natural death, but with all that had happened in town recently, Emma still wasn't convinced.

Just as she was about to leave, something caught her eyes. There was a strange mark on the floor just in front of the fridge, looking suspiciously like someone had tried to brush away something. She bent down and removed the small plastic cover on the bottom of the fridge and peered in under it. There was some kind of gray powder further inside. Reaching into one of her pockets, she pulled out two small evidence bags and carefully put some of the powder inside each of them. It looked like ash.

"Hey doc, did you say she might have died from heart problems? Like a heart attack?" 

"I guess so. Or she might just as well have tripped and died from hitting her head. Old ladies, you know. One scare insect and they're bringing down the house."

Emma gave him one of the bags. "Can you run some tests on this to see what it is?"

He took it and looked at it closely, shaking the bag a few times. "This looks like ash."

"Just test it, okay? It's probably just from her cigarettes, but I need to make sure." She didn't explain further; she had enough problems without Whale spreading rumors all over town.

Whale shrugged and shoved his hands down his coat pockets. "Whatever you say, Sheriff. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a corpse to pack up."

Leaving Whale to finish up with the body, Emma and Mulan headed into the living room to get away from any potential eavesdropping.

"What's with the ash?" Mulan asked as soon as they were alone.

"From what I know, crushing someone's heart reduces it to ash, and the one person I've seen die from that looked like he was getting a heart attack."

Mulan's eyes narrowed. "So you do think someone killed her. Someone who can rip out hearts."

"Maybe. She was a loner, possibly had magic, died within a week or so of the library fire? That's pretty suspicious." 

"I didn't find any signs of magic, though." Mulan pursed her lips in annoyance. "Not that I'm entirely sure what I would be looking for. Magic practitioners don't usually put their things on display."

"Me neither. She did have some newspaper article in her bedroom about Regina, but I don't know why. I don't even know if she was a fan or not. Wasn't anything else suspicious nearby, either." Emma threw a glance around the room. "Did you find a basement?"

"No, and from what I can tell, she spent most of her time on this floor. The only rooms that aren't covered in dust is the kitchen, the bathroom, and this room." 

Emma stepped up to a bookcase nearby. It was almost black, but the dust made it look gray. Almost all of the books hadn't been touched for months, if not longer. "Looks pretty dusty to me."

"Not that." She made a gesture at a low cupboard near the TV, then bent down and picked up a VHS tape from it. "These. _Days of our Lives_. They're recordings, right?" The cupboard was stacked from top to bottom with tapes.

"Yeah. Well, that explains what she was doing all day. And why no one saw much of her." Emma couldn't help but wonder how long it would have taken for someone to notice her death if the library hadn't burnt. Six months, a year? The thought was pretty depressing.

Mulan nodded. "Maybe we could ask around, see if any other neighbors knew anything about her." She made a face. "Especially if it means I don't have to spend more time in this apartment."

"Good point." They had documented everything they could for now, and the stench was just barely tolerable. A change of venue was definitely in order.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning! This chapter has some somewhat suggestive dubcon-ish dialogue and situations some folks might find a icky (it's Hook, after all) but nothing is explicit and nothing real non-con-y happens, implied or otherwise. Just keep in mind that Hook is being a fucking sleazy creep in this chapter. Also, please do tell me if you think I should add some relevant tag to let people know. I've read this way too many times to know how icky it really is.

Emma left the diner with a bag of bear claws in her hand. Apparently Mulan had quite the taste for them and Emma hadn't yet decided if she liked how they had it in common or if she disliked the competition.

"Emma!"

It took all the self-control she could muster not to poof away right then and there. She hadn't seen Hook in some time now and she hadn't missed him one bit. The more time she spent around him, the more she was starting to understand the fascination witches seemed to have with turning people into frogs.

"What."

Hook stopped in front of her, almost closing what little space was between them before thinking better of it. He grinned, all teeth and beard. "I've been looking for you, love."

"I've heard."

"I think we need to talk."

Rolling her eyes, Emma moved to leave, but Hook stepped in front of her again.

"I know we haven't quite seen... eye to eye on some things these last few weeks, and part of it has surely been my fault. I'd like to fix that, if you'll let me." 

Emma hesitated, not quite sure what to make of it. Hook admitting guilt and making amends? That didn't sound like him.

"All I need is a few moments of your time, love, and I'll make things up to you."

"Hook–"

"If you give me a chance and you're still not convinced, I'll leave you alone. How about that?" He shot a wary glance at the diner behind them. "We probably shouldn't talk here, though, or the wolves will take my other hand as well."

Emma hesitated for another few seconds. Listening to him ramble a little wouldn't kill her, and she might even learn something about the missing month if she was lucky. Besides, a chance to get him to stop pestering her for good sounded pretty damn sweet. "Fine."

"Excellent. This way." He gestured for Emma to follow, a move he probably intended to be romantic, but his unnerving grin made any attempt at romance fall flat.

They walked in silence towards the docks. His ship might have been gone, but she guessed he still felt most at home near the water. She scrunched up her nose slightly; he was apparently most at home in his only set of clothes too, because he was still wearing the same ones he had been ever since he got to Storybrooke and the smell made it all too clear.

A small item flashing underneath his leather coat caught her eye. It was a small blue pouch, looking oddly out of place among all the leather he wore. Also, near the pouch's opening, she could thought she saw something sparkling.

When Hook noticed her looking, he grinned. "Seeing anything that strikes your fancy, love?" Then he seemed to realize just what Emma had looked at and his smile dimmed. With a quick move, he pushed the pouch aside, making sure it was hidden under his coat.

"What was that?" Emma asked. Hook's sudden secrecy didn't bode well.

"Nothing you have to worry about."

Emma stopped. "It's fairy dust, isn't it?"

"It doesn't matter, we're not here to talk about that."

"Someone used fairy dust to set fire to the library. It matters to me."

On one hand, she knew she should have backup before facing off with Hook – especially if he had fairy dust – but poofing away and letting her only possible lead go wasn't an appealing alternative.

"I don't care about the library. I care about _us_. That's why you're here." Hook took a step towards Emma, reaching under his coat with his hand as slowly and casually as he could.

With all kinds of alarms going off in her mind, Emma scrambled back and summoned her magic to poof away, but Hook was a split second too fast, throwing the fairy dust at her before she could escape. Her body froze, her magic bubbling under her skin without any way to leave.

"What the hell do you think you're doing," Emma bit out, fighting the magical barrier that had rendered her completely immobile. It was useless, though; the fairy dust's magic was far too strong.

"I told you to give me a chance, Swan. I didn't want to take more drastic measures, but as the saying goes, 'all is fair in love and war', no?" He leaned in, making Emma's stomach churn. "Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you... unless you tell me to."

" _Fuck off._ "

Chuckling, he ran his hook down over Emma's arm. "You've never given me a chance, you know. The Evil Queen, though?" He gave her a pointed look, shaking his head. "Even after everything she's done to you, you keep letting her back time and time again. She made you an orphan, tried to keep you from your son, even tried to poison you. Not to mention everything she's done to your dear mother."

"She has changed," Emma spat. "She's been working for years, trying to become a better person. You just switched sides one day and figured that would make you a hero."

"Changed? Has she now," Hook said with mock curiosity. "Since when? Since she took away your memory?"

Emma blanched. How could he know about that? Had someone told him?

"Don't look so surprised. Your wolf friend and you talk quite loudly."

"You spied on me?" She should have known he hadn't been idle all this time.

"I'd call it admiring from afar," he grinned. "I had to do something when you kept avoiding me, love. Now, back to why we're here."

Despite her bleak situation, Emma managed to keep her rising panic mostly in check. What little faith she'd had in Hook was dead and gone and she had only one thought in her mind: _escape_. Her magic, as strong as it was, did nothing against the fairy dust, and her muscles couldn't make her limbs move an inch. She needed another way. Maybe she could wait out the fairy dust, keeping Hook occupied until it wore off?

"So why are we here?" she asked. "What could you possibly have to say to me?"

"Well, _talking_ is only the beginning," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "I think we'll be able to find something better to do later on."

Emma laughed out in disbelief. "You honestly think that?"

"You and Regina were in much the same position not long ago, and you didn't push her away like this." He touched her chin with his hook. "I'm only taking what I deserve, the same as she did."

"You're _not_ Regina."

"Oh, I know. When you're mine, I won't use you like she did. I'll be the perfect gentleman." He paused, looking up at the sky for a second. "But it's getting late, and there's no point in spending our time together out here, is it? I know where we can continue our conversation in private."

As he began to fiddle with the pouch of fairy dust again, Emma racked her mind for another way out – _anything_ to get away. She didn't know what he was planning to do with the fairy dust and she didn't want to find out. Could she call for help? Would anyone even hear her, or have time to get to her before it was too late? It was early afternoon and she was in the outskirts of the docks. She hadn't seen anyone around ever since they left the diner. Also, if she yelled and no one came, how would Hook react? She already knew he didn't take rejection kindly.

Hook finished what he was doing, turning his attention back to Emma, holding the pouch of fairy dust ready in his hand.

"Wait," she blurted out. She tried her best to look genuine. "Killian, I... I need to tell you something."

"Really now, love. You're awfully talkative all of a sudden, aren't you? I'm afraid we're on the clock here though, so it'll have to wait until we're somewhere a little more private."

"No, you're right. You're right about Regina."

That finally got his attention. He lowered his hand, still keeping a loose grip on the pouch, and waited for Emma to continue.

Emma closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. Then she opened them again, breathed in deeply, and then yelled with all the force she could muster, " _Ruby! Ru–_ "

Snarling, Hook surged forward and clamped his hand over Emma's mouth, the fairy dust momentarily forgotten. "That mutt isn't here now. _I_ am. But you don't listen very well, do you?" He leaned in close enough that Emma could smell the rum in his breath. "If you would just give me a chance for once, things would be so much easier for both of us." A grin spread across his lips again. "Although, if you did, this wouldn't be half as much fun. I do enjoy a challenge."

Emma closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, doing her best to stay calm, despite the hand over her mouth and that nauseating scent of leather and liquor. Ruby would find her. Ruby had to.

"Now, if you're quite done with your little outburst, we have some unfinished business to take care of." While still holding his hand over Emma's mouth, Hook reached over with his hook to pick up the pouch which was dangling from his other wrist. "It's a little difficult to do without my good hand, but I'm more than capable using my hook."

He had just gotten the pouch onto his hook when Emma heard noises coming from farther down the empty street, growing in volume quickly. Claws against asphalt. Fast, heavy breathing. _Ruby_.

Cursing, Hook let go of Emma and spun around, fumbling for the fairy dust as the hulking black wolf closed in on them. In his hurry, he dropped the pouch, and with one last look at the snarling beast coming for him, he turned and darted off in the opposite direction.

Ruby rushed past Emma just as Hook disappeared out of sight into a side alley, and for a moment, it looked like Ruby would chase after him. Then, seeing Emma, still frozen from the fairy dust, she slowed down and turned back. She shifted back into her human form and rushed over to Emma, her chest heaving from the exertion.

"Shit, are you okay?" Ruby's eyes were wide with worry, flitting over Emma's still frozen body. "What did he do?"

"I'll be fine," Emma croaked, her heart still beating wildly. "You got here just in time."

Ruby swallowed and crossed her arms tightly, looking anything but the imposing beast she had been moments earlier. "I got a bad feeling as soon as I saw you leave with him. And then when I thought I heard my name, I just shifted and let my wolf take over." She noticed the pouch on the ground. "Did he seriously use fairy dust on you? How do I get it off you?"

"Get Regina." Despite everything, she was still the one Emma trusted the most with magic.

"Okay. She'll fix this." Ruby pulled up her phone and dialed. "Hey, Regina? We need your help. Yeah, me and Emma. No– no, wait! Hook used fairy dust on her." She paused. "We're near the docks, on Pike Street near some old warehouse. Okay. Thanks." Ruby ended the call. "She's on her way."

It didn't long before Regina appeared in a cloud of purple smoke, her expression tense. She marched over to Emma, every step looking as if she was trying to shatter the asphalt underneath her heels. Flicking her wrist, the fairy dust shimmered to life and disappeared, and Emma could once again move.

"Thank you," Emma mumbled, stumbling a few steps before Ruby could catch her and keep her from falling.

"Are you out of your mind? What were you doing out here?" Regina went off, arms wrapped tightly around her midriff. "Out in the middle of nowhere with that pirate? Were you trying to reenact a slasher movie?"

"Lay off her, Regina!" Ruby snapped. "You can rant later."

Regina opened her mouth to respond, but soon snapped it shut again, glaring daggers at both of them.

"I thought he just wanted to talk," Emma said, the words sounding increasingly difficult to believe as she said them. "Then I noticed he had this weird pouch, and before I could get away he used the fairy dust in it on me. I knew he was bad news, but this..."

"He's an opportunist and a pirate. Of course he takes what he wants," Regina scoffed.

"At least now you have a suspect for the fire, right?" Ruby said, eyeing Regina and Emma warily.

Emma nodded tiredly but didn't respond. All she wanted was to get back to the station and get back to work and forget this ever happened.

"Try to catch the criminals next time, Sheriff, and not the other way around." Regina disappeared in a puff of smoke.

 

* * *

 

A day later and somehow Hook was still at large, somewhere in Storybrooke. No one had seen him and since he had kept to himself, no one even knew where he lived, not even Gold. That also meant Emma hadn't been able to find any personal items linked to him, so a tracking spell had also been out of the question. Still, Storybrooke was a small town and if he hadn't escaped through the town barrier – something Emma doubted, considering his obsession with her – he would have to surface sooner or later, and that time Emma would be ready for him.

Meanwhile, Emma focused on her work, keeping her mind off Hook's assault. She was still waiting for the test results from Dr. Whale, although she wasn't what result she wanted to get. If the powder she found was regular ash, it most likely meant Bethany Vickers had died from natural causes. On the other hand, if the powder was something else, while they might have a fresh lead in the library fire case, it also meant there was a killer on the loose. A stalker and an arsonist was bad enough; Storybrooke really didn't need a murderer as well.

She rubbed her palm with her thumb absentmindedly, getting lost in thoughts. She hadn't had a flashback in a while, she noted, trying to remember the last one. A dream a few nights back, maybe? Something about Regina, unsurprisingly. The nighttime ones were always tricky, though; she could never be sure how much was actual flashbacks and how much was a product of her own subconscious.

At least her relationship – if she could call it that – with Regina felt like it was slowly getting mended... maybe. Sure, Regina had seemed furious when she had gotten the fairy dust off Emma, but she lashed out when she got scared, didn't she? Regina wasn't exactly the most obvious person when it came to her feelings. Maybe there was still a possibility to fix all this, if they could just sit down and talk.

On the other hand, the gaps in her memory made Emma less than enthusiastic about having a heart to heart with Regina any time soon. Sitting down without all the facts was a recipe for disaster and Emma was not in the mood for accidentally fucking everything up even more. No, fixing things with Regina would have to wait until she got her memory back and knew for sure what the hell had happened during that month.

Turning her focus back to her work, she was just about to call the hospital to check on the status of the test results when the door to the sheriff's station opened and Ruby entered. Ruby sniffed the air, looked around the room a few times, and then closed the door behind her.

"Are you alone?"

"Uh, yeah. Mulan is out interviewing folks about the Vickers lady."

Ruby walked over to Emma's desk and sat down opposite her. "Good. I just got another note and I didn't want to take it over the phone in case someone eavesdropped." She put down two brown paper bags on the desk. "Figured you could use a snack too."

Despite her eagerness to learn about the new note, Emma had to peek inside the closest bags. Bear claws, maybe even freshly baked. "Nice," she muttered, pulling up one and taking a bite. Delicious, as always.

"Now, this is what I got during the lunch rush today," Ruby continued, placing a simple paper note on the desk.

**Tell the sheriff this:**  
**Today, 8 PM under the Toll Bridge.**  
**Come alone. No magic. No car. Don't tell anyone.**

Same stiff, forced handwriting and the same featureless paper and ink. Nothing to go on whatsoever.

"This is some Agatha Christie level shit," Emma muttered, scowling at the paper.

"Or someone's trying to get you alone. I don't like it at all."

After the incident with Hook, she was inclined to agree, but she still had a job to do. "I don't have a whole lot of choice if I want some answers, do I? But yeah, it's pretty shady." Seeing Ruby's disapproval, she added, "If you've got any ideas, I'm all ears."

Ruby stayed quiet for a few moments, then shook her head. "Nothing that won't risk scaring off the informant."

"Yeah, and if this person knows something – hell, if they know _anything_ – we need to get that information, no matter what. It's the best lead we've got so far."

Ruby reluctantly agreed. "I'll be ready to back you up, though. If I haven't heard from you in half an hour, I'm going in."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." She wouldn't let some asshole with fairy dust get the drop on her a second time. The memory of being completely immobilized by the magic still sent shivers down her spine.

 

* * *

 

The forest was dark that evening, with clouds hiding even the slightest hint of moonlight. Emma didn't dare to use a flashlight, but her eyes soon adjusted to the dim light and she managed the trek without any incidents. When she finally arrived at the Toll Bridge, it was almost eight o'clock but she didn't see anyone nearby. She sent off a quick text to Ruby and then sat down with her back against a tree, waiting for the informant to show.

Minutes passed by and Emma was glad she had worn a sweater under her jacket. Sitting around waiting wasn't the best way to keep warm. Now and again she heard a noise, but it never seemed to be much more than a bird or some other nighttime critter.

At 8.20, Emma got to her feet. There was still no sign of the informant and her mood was dropping faster than the temperature. Muttering a few curses to herself, she walked up to one of the bridgeheads to get a better view. Nothing but blurry darkness in all directions.

As she headed back down again to wait some more – just in case – she noticed something bright sticking up from between two rocks. Another note. Same paper, same pen, same handwriting.

**I'm sorry, the risk was too great.**  
**Good luck, Sheriff.**

Letting out another string of curses, Emma all but tore the note up in frustration. Another lead, another fucking brick wall. Maybe she should just call it quits and move back to Boston already because clearly, some higher power didn't want her to get anything done around here. With the note shoved into one of her pockets, she turned and stomped back towards town. She could have poofed back, but she knew she'd sleep better if she managed to walk off the worst of the anger.

It wasn't until she was well into town that she remembered she hadn't sent another text to Ruby yet. Feeling through her pockets, she couldn't find her phone. She groaned out loud, realizing that she must have forgotten it when she sat and waited under the bridge. 

Completely out of every ounce of patience, she summoned her magic and poofed back to the Toll Bridge. She racked her brain, trying to remember exactly where she had been sitting, when she heard a strange noise behind her, far too loud for the sleeping forest. She spun around, blinking into the darkness. A quick spell later, she had a nice little glowing ball of magic floating in the air, softly illuminating both her and the figure in front of her.

She wasn't sure who she had expected to find, but it sure as hell wasn't this.

"Regina?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a little longer than expected but on the upside, I got most of the next two chapters done in the process. Anywho, thank you as always for all your comments (seriously, they cheer me up like you wouldn't believe) and I hope you'll enjoy this next chapter.
> 
> On a completely unrelated and pretty insignificant note, I'm thinking about starting to name the chapters like I do with most of my other fics. I've already got temp names in my files to keep track of which is which so it wouldn't be too much of a change for me. Just putting it out there.

"Regina? What the hell are you doing here?" Emma took a step forward, staring at Regina in utter confusion. "It's the middle of nowhere, at night– were you following me? Did you see the informant? Or, wait– are _you_ the informant?"

Regina didn't say anything. She looked almost paralyzed where she stood, her posture stiff and awkward.

"What's going on?" Emma studied her closer. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Maybe Regina was running from someone? That wouldn't explain what she was doing in the woods, though.

"I was just... making sure you were okay," Regina finally said, mustering an unconvincing smile. Her voice sounded completely normal, yet to Emma it felt like nails on a chalkboard.

"How did you know I was here? Did you follow me?"

A short, hesitant pause. "Yes."

"What about Henry?"

Regina smiled again. "He's fine. Don't worry about him. The important thing is that you're okay."

"Okay." Emma's skin felt like it was about to crawl off on its own. The way Regina talked about Henry was strange, as if she was reading off a script. "Sure." 

"We should probably head back now."

Emma stared at the woman in front of her, trying to find just what it was that made her so uneasy. Nothing in particular stood out, but Emma could clearly tell that something was wrong about her. She could sense it, in some strange way.

"You're not Regina." The words came out on their own, a result of Emma's own thoughts more than any active decision to speak them.

Regina frowned, crossing her arms. "Don't be ridiculous."

"No, you're definitely not Regina." Emma's right hand already rested on the top of her holster, her confrontation with Hook fresh in mind. "Who are you?"

"Miss Swan–"

Emma pulled out her gun, keeping it ready but pointed at the ground. "Drop the act. I know you're not her. For all I know, you could be the same person who set the library on fire."

The woman recoiled from the accusation, looking disgusted. "You're wrong."

"I'm putting you under arrest. Get down on your knees and put your hands on your head."

"Wait!" There was a note of urgency to the woman's voice that hadn't been there earlier. She held out her hands in front of her, shooting glances at the forest around her. "Look, okay. Maybe you're right, but I can't come with you. I shouldn't even be talking to you."

"That's too bad, because you already are." She wasn't going to let this lead slip away from her as well. "And you _are_ coming with me."

"You don't understand," the woman insisted. "You're in over your head. I did everything I could to stay under a radar and–" Her eyes widened and she snapped her mouth shut, stopping herself mid-sentence.

Whoever this was, she was definitely hiding something. Something important. "How about you tell me exactly what I've gotten myself into, then?"

The woman shook her head. "I told you, I can't do that. Please let me go. I swear, I didn't burn down the library."

"I can't do that. I'm sorry." Emma clenched her jaw, loosening her grip on her gun. "You're the only lead I've got."

"You'll find someone else – something else. _Please_."

Despite the woman's desperation, Emma didn't budge. She couldn't, not when she was this close. "If you're innocent, you won't be harmed in any way. I'll make sure you'll be safe."

"Safe? We're in Storybrooke, damn it! There's nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. How could anyone be safe here?" She began to back away.

"Don't–" Emma started, but then cursed as the woman spun around and set off into the woods. Holstering her gun, Emma ran after her.

The darkness made them both stumble over the uneven terrain, doing their best not to trip over stones and roots. Emma's career as a bail bondsperson hadn't been for nothing though, and slowly but surely, she gained on the fleeing woman.

"Stop! You said it yourself," Emma shouted, her breath labored, "there's nowhere to run!"

The woman tossed a panicked look over her shoulder and then fired a burst of magic blindly behind her, only missing Emma by a few feet. Cursing, Emma dodged two more blasts before one grazed her shoulder, causing her to stumble and nearly fall in the process. The next time the woman sent a projectile at her, she was ready. Summoning her own magic, she met the blast and sent it back, hitting the woman in the leg. Still, the woman kept running.

The forest got thicker and thicker, and soon Emma couldn't even make out the figure in front of her anymore. She stopped and leaned against a tree and tried to regain her breath.

"God fucking damn it," she mumbled. Her only lead, gone just like that. "Fuck!"

A sudden rustle behind her made her fumble for her gun, but then she recognized the hulking form as Ruby and breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Ruby asked as soon as she had shifted into her human form. "Who were you following?"

Emma swallowed and cleared her throat. "The informant didn't show at first, so I left. Then when I got back there to pick up my phone, someone pretending to be Regina was there. I tried to get her to come with me but something freaked her out, big time. She ran and I followed but she was too fast for me." She gestured in the direction where the woman had disappeared. "Can you track her?"

Ruby sniffed the air a few times. "No problem. Can you run?"

Emma pushed off from the tree with a wry smile. "More or less."

They hurried on, following Ruby's lead. Ruby, still in human form, moved smoothly through the undergrowth as if it was a regular day's jogging session. Emma didn't do too bad herself, but it wasn't anywhere near Ruby's ease. Her earlier sprint didn't make it any easier either.

"The scent stops here." They had ended up in a small, empty clearing. Ruby took a few steps in one direction, then another, squinting into the dark woods ahead. "Whoever it was, they must have poofed away."

Emma swallowed another string of curses. "Well, we did what we could, I guess." Remembering her phone, she groaned. "Shit, I still need to go back to the Toll Bridge. I forgot my phone there."

"Do you need me there?"

"No, it's alright. I'll just poof over there and then home." She had never been so thankful for her magic; the mere thought of walking all the way back home was enough to make her stomach churn.

"Okay, good." Ruby gave a half smile. "Honestly, I'm in the mood for midnight run anyway. Maybe I'll even pick up her trail again."

"Alright. Thanks for the help, Ruby."

Ruby gave a mock salute and shifted, soon leaping off into the woods in her wolf form.

Summoning her magic and poofing away, Emma appeared at the base of the Toll Bridge. It took a few minutes to look around, but finally she found something distinctly metallic looking on the ground. When she picked it up, she frowned in confusion. It was a phone, alright, but it wasn't hers. Maybe this was why the informant had returned? She tapped the home button, but the phone was password protected. Oh well, it was better than nothing.

A couple of minutes later, she found her own phone. With both phones safe in her pockets, she poofed home. After all this, she needed some proper rest.

 

* * *

 

_She arrived just as the sun was setting. The trees were looming above her. Dark, gnarled, twisted shapes reaching up towards the sky, threatening to block what little light was left of the day._

_"There you are," Regina said. "Come with me."_

_"I just want to go home." She was cold and tired. Something was missing._

_"Of course." Regina smiled. "How have you been?"_

_Emma shrugged. "I don't remember. It's pretty blurry."_

_They set off into the woods. It was a difficult walk, with stones and roots threatening to trip Emma every step she took. She didn't recognize where she was, either; were they even going the right way?_

_Behind her, she heard someone call out to her. Emma stopped, trying to make out the words. She hurried towards the sound; she could feel it was what she was looking for. Soon, she burst out of the forest into the well kept back yard of the mayoral mansion. Regina was standing in the doorway, arms crossed and eyes hard as flint._

_"Welcome back." The words were spat out._

_Emma looked over her shoulder. Someone was coming. Someone dangerous. She couldn't stay here. "Can I come in?"_

_"And why would I let you in?"_

_That person was coming back. Emma wasn't safe here. "Please, Regina. Just let me in." She turned to Snow, standing nearby. "Mom? Help me out here."_

_"This is between the two of you." She gave Emma a sad smile. "Maybe do it right this time."_

_Emma looked behind her again, panic rising. Even the forest itself was closing in on her, threatening to pull her away. "I fucked up, okay? I know I did! I shouldn't have talked to her. I thought she was you." She swallowed and licked her lips, taking another step towards Regina. "I'll fix this. Just please, let me inside."_

_Smiling warmly, Regina cupped Emma's face with her hands and kissed her. The kiss was dry and cold. Like kissing paper._

_The door was wide open but Emma couldn't get herself to enter. The inside was black and gray cramped and smelled of old beer and cheap detergent. She pulled herself away from Regina and stumbled backwards._

_This wasn't Regina, Emma realized with rising horror. What had been Regina moments earlier had transformed into some terrifying creature that Emma couldn't even bring herself to look at. She turned, scrambling to get away. Was that thing following her? She swore she could feel it right behind her, gleeful from her terror._

_Storybrooke passed her by while she ran. Her limbs ached and her throat felt raw. It was late at night, not a single soul outside. The town felt dead, the houses nothing more than thin set pieces barely covering up that hungry darkness that threatened to swallow her. Behind her, something was catching up to her. She had to get away._

_She slammed a door shut behind her and froze, holding her breath in anticipation. Had she gotten to safety? There wasn't any obvious danger in sight, but the atmosphere was tense and depressing. Her heart pounded in her chest. If she could only find Regina..._

_"Dinner's ready," Snow called out from the kitchen, and soon Emma found herself sitting at the table with Snow and David._

_"I'm glad you're back," Snow said, placing some more potatoes on Emma's place. "We weren't worried or anything, though." She and David shared a smiling look._

_They were hiding something. Emma could see the ghost underneath their smiles, anger or disappointment or sadness or a mix of all three. The oppressive atmosphere in the room was pushing down on her as if she was underwater, making her body heavy and her breathing near impossible._

_Someone clawed at the door._ It had found her. __

_"How's work?" Emma asked as casually as she could. She wanted to run, but she couldn't leave until she had finished eating._

_"Everything is fine, Emma," David assured her, but Emma could hear the lie. "There's nothing to worry about. Here, have some more potatoes."_

_Her body felt more limp and powerless the longer she sat there. "I need to leave," Emma whispered._

_Snow and David ate in silence. They didn't hear her anymore._

_The door slid open a few inches._

_Everyone else had already left, but she couldn't move._

_Cool metal touched the side of her neck._

_A chuckle. "Let's have some fun, love."_

_Emma opened her mouth in a wordless scream._

 

* * *

 

Emma pried her eyes open and sat up in bed, breathing heavily. Her heart felt like it was trying to tear itself out of her chest and her body was drenched in sweat.

"I'm awake, I'm home," she mumbled, fumbling for the lamp on her bedside table. "Just a dream. Wasn't real. Shit."

Her jeans clung uncomfortably to her overheated skin, damp from the sweat. Wait, jeans? She looked down on her body and realized that she was still wearing the same clothes she had worn during the day. Apparently she must have been tired enough to fall asleep without getting ready for bed. No wonder she had gotten a nightmare, as warm and uncomfortable she had been.

Doing her best to ignore the lingering memories from the nightmare, she quickly shed her clothes and hurried into the shower to wash off the grime and sweat and hopefully clear her head.

Half an hour later, she was back in her bedroom, dressed in some comfortable pants and a tank top. Although the shower had done wonders for the lingering tension from her nightmare, she was not nearly sleepy enough to go back to bed. She checked the time; it was almost 3 AM. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she ambled over to her jacket and rummaged through its pockets. If she wasn't getting any sleep, she might as well get some work done.

She sat down on her bed with the phone the informant had dropped. It was a pretty recent model and in near prime condition. No stickers, no case, and nothing of note on the lock screen. Turning it around, she noticed a memory card slot. Could she be that lucky?

It took some googling, a couple of paperclips, and a lot of cursing, but she did eventually manage to pull the memory card out and plug it into her computer. By some miracle – maybe the gods of fortune actually were beginning to take pity on her – the card wasn't encrypted. On the downside, however, there wasn't much on it.

"Of course I'd be stuck with the one person in the whole damn world who doesn't take selfies," Emma muttered, scrolling past nature photo after nature photo. The sea, the forest, a bunch of flowers, some old-looking houses, the occasional statue.

Wait, she recognized that statue. She scrolled back a few images. She recognized those trees too, and some of the houses. In another stroke of luck, the photos still had their GPS tags in their metadata, so with a little work, Emma managed to get a rough map of where the photos had been taken. Soon, things were starting to become clear: all the photos' locations seemed to center around one specific spot, with only a few outliers.

She studied her map, looking for anything she could have missed. It wasn't a clear-cut indictment and definitely nothing that would hold up in court (not that they had one, but still), but far too much data was pointing in the same direction to be a coincident. 

The informant had to be one of the fairies.


End file.
